The quality of education at the Renfrew County District School Board will not be hampered by the Ontario Provincial cuts to education.
Jonathan Laderoute of the RCDSB said that there had been a number of funding reductions for the board. Three forms of funding totalling just under $1.5 million were absent from this year’s budget. However, Laderoute said those types of funding were due to come to an end and were not considered sudden. Laderoute said that the funding was part of a collective bargaining agreement signed in 2017, or was intended to be temporary. He notes that the reduction was not as bad as it could have been.
Laderoute says the majority of budget reductions came from the administrative side. He said that there was a lot of restructuring of the board’s administration to make sure an impact wasn’t felt on students. Laderoute said it was important that no additional barriers were placed on staff and students. He says that all funding comes from the provincial government, and it is based on enrolment. Laderoute said that enrolment is up across the board, which he says speaks to the quality of education the board offers. He points to the rolling out of FSL courses in Deep River and the Madawaska Valley as examples of education improving across the region.