Public school board delivers balanced budget
Healthy and safe learning environments are among the focuses of York Region District School Board’s (YRDSB) balanced $1.770-million budget.
Classroom-based support staff, mental health and student well-being, and education technology to enhance student learning round out the focuses of the budget, passed at the Board’s June 17 meeting.
“As we developed the 2025-2026 budget, the Board sought the input of students, families, staff and community members,” says Board Chair Ron Lynn. “This feedback, along with input from advisory committees and various stakeholders, played an important role in allocating the budget. I would like to thank staff, families and members of the community and the Finance and Property Committee members for the collaborative effort.”
“The 2025–2026 budget reflects the Board’s ongoing commitment to prioritizing areas that matter most to YRDSB students, families, staff and community-priorities that were identified through the consultation process,” says Trustee Carolyn Butterworth, chair of the Finance and Property Committee.
As part of the budget’s focus on a healthy and safe learning environment for all, $518,000 was allocated through the Critical Physical Security Infrastructure to improve physical security; supporting secure entry systems, surveillance and emergency response infrastructure.
As part of the budget’s focus on classroom-based support staff, the budget increased Empower Reading Teachers from 27 full-time equivalents to 28.2 to support students with significant reading difficulties. It also invested $3.6 million in Elementary Primary Literacy Teachers and allocated $564,000 for Math Facilitators.
The Board saved $1.5 million by using Chromebooks in lieu of laptops for specialized equipment. Funding from those savings have been reallocated to enhance support for students’ special needs, health and well-being by funding additional social workers, occupational therapists and speech-language pathologists beyond the base budget.
The budget also designated $1.5 million in technology investment to support student devices and support initiatives in digital literacy, robotics and artificial intelligence. It allocated $250,000 centrally to support science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs, robotics, broad-based technology and other school-based technology expenses.
“We were able to deliver a balanced budget by focusing on what matters most to families – programs that directly support students,” says Director of Education Bill Cober. “By combining investments in student programs with efficiencies in central departments, we were able to deliver a budget that aligns resources to support the Board’s District Action Plan.”