The Education Ministry announced $972.6 million in total funding for Ontario’s school boards for the 2021-2022 school year. This money comes from the Grants of Student Needs program (GSN), the fund that provides the bulk of school board operating budgets based on their student populations.
The 2021-2022 GSN funding represents an $18.1 million increase compared to the funding approved for all of Ontario’s schools for the 2020-2021 term. For the Eastern Ontario region and the four school boards that serve communities in Prescott-Russell and Stormont-Dundas-Glengarry, the total funding for 2021-2022 will be $972.6 million, which amounts to a 1.8 per cent increase in the base budget funding for all four school boards.
The Upper Canada District School Board will get $353.7 million in base funding for next term. The Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario will receive $188.1 million, while le Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario gets $262.9 million, and le Conseil scolaire de district catholique de l’Est ontarien $167.9 million.
The provincial education budget will also include $1.6 billion in targeted resources for schools boards to help them deal with pandemic-related needs, including enhanced cleaning protocols, supplies of personal protective equipment, and other critical supplies, and also temporary equipment and staffing needs. The ministry will also set aside $85.5 million to help students whose education has been affected in some way by the pandemic.
