CURRENT ISSUES FACING THE SCDSB

Bullying in Schools

From my days in school and for the generations before me, there has always been bullies and bullying in our schools. Now it is described in studies and research as dominance behavior. But it does not change the fact that it is going on and as a society, we are more aware of the impacts and effects bullying has on our children. Modern communication tools including smart phones and social media platforms are now part of the equation that I and many other parents never had to deal with when we were going to school. This issue is not going away, and while trustees do not get involved in school operations, we can acknowledge that this is an issue; ask questions and advocate for all schools to be safe welcoming spaces for everyone.

Violence in Schools

Acts of violence in our schools often makes the local news as it is newsworthy. Like bullying, violent acts by students towards

other students or students towards staff is an issue that can not be ignored. Collecting accurate data on the number and types of incidents is just a starting point, but can inform trustees on the nature and extent of the issue beyond the soundbite of the news headlines and social media campaigns.

Advocate for more funding to all school boards from the Ministry of Education and the of Province of Ontario

I believe that many of the current issues including bullying and violence in our schools can be in part attributed to the strains being put on the public education system, with many of the root causes linked to a lack of funds to provide the necessary supports needed to our schools and educators. While the provincial government has seen increases in the base funding for education, that funding has not kept pace with inflation or the rising costs in 2026 dollars for many of these necessary and underfunded services and supports. Here is a link to the province's own 2025 report from the provincial financial accountability office of Ontario outlining that by 2027-28 school year there is a projected $0.9 Billion dollar underfunding of education. https://fao-on.org/en/report/estimates-2025-edu/

Here are a number of specific examples of provincial under funding

that directly impacts the Simcoe County District School Board

A. Need to Create New Funding Formulas for Busing & Special Education

The province of Ontario has been reviewing for over a decade the current formula it uses to determine the allotted amount that school boards receive each year to cover the costs associated with busing students. This allocation is not sufficient to cover the rising costs related to busing. The SCDSB working through the Simcoe County Transportation Consortium that oversees busing for both the SCDSB and the SMCDSB has worked hard to find savings though bell time efficiencies thereby allowing buses to make multiple runs each morning and afternoon. This process does have limits however, and a long delayed new funding formula is needed.

Like busing, the allocation of funding each school board receives for Special Education is determined by a complex funding formula set by the Ministry of Education. However, there is an ever increasing deficit in the funding to cover both the identified needs and the ever increasing costs related to being able to provide the associated infrastructure, both physical and supporting staff. All school boards including the SCDSB currently can only stretch the current funding so far to be able to set-up both the individual students with special needs and entire classrooms for success. The lack of Special Education funding to meet these needs only leads to create barriers towards this goal. There needs to be a new funding formula that meets these needs.

B. Need to build more schools from the SCDSB Capitol Priorities List

Every school board in the province is experiencing schools that are over capacity or have reached an age that the current building can no longer be repaired or refurbished and needs to be replaced. The building of new schools is approved and paid for by the Province of Ontario through the Ministry of Education. The process to get new schools built starts when school boards upon request from the Ministry of Education are asked to submit a ranked list of the school board most pressing needs within the board.

Due to limits on provincial funding to build new schools, often this ranked list does not determine which schools and their communities are chosen to receive funding from the Ministry of Education. Often the list of the approved projects across the entire province is determined by additional factors beyond the base needs like over-capacity catchment areas or deteriorating existing school facilities that have been identified by of the SCDSB staff and reviewed by the trustees.

Unfortunately, Simcoe County District School Board is not alone in the desperate need for more schools. There are just too many schools that are needed for every school board in the province. As of last year, the province's own studies indicated

that while the province has budgeted $12.5 billion over the next 10 years for new and to upgrade existing schools, the provinces own research notes that it will take almost $22 billion in the next ten years to clear the current backlog.

Here is a link to the province's own 2024 report from the Financial Accountability Office of Ontario on the School Building Condition, Student Capacity and Capital Budgeting Report. https://fao-on.org/en/report/school-boards-capital-2024/

C. Need to Increase the Education Development Charges (EDC) on New Developments

The EDC is the amount of funds generated from new building developments in order to support the purchase of lands for new school sites. In 2018 The SCDSB completed an extensive review process that had determined that a significant increase was required to be able to have sufficient funds to purchase properties that are ever increasing in value and cost. However, the province froze EDC rates in 2018 and have allowed only limited yearly increases since then. Therefore the funds collected no longer cover the cost of future land purchases which are the first steps to building a new school. This needs to change.