Thames Valley District School Board approves budget for 2022-2023 fiscal year

The exterior of the Thames Valley District school board building. (Daryl Newcombe / CTV News)

The new budget for the upcoming school year at the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) has been approved.

According to a press release issued Wednesday afternoon, the TVDSB Board of Trustees approved a budget of $1.1 billion for the 2022-2023 fiscal year.

“The budget is fully compliant with Ministry of Education requirements and supports TVDSB’s Strategic Priorities, Operational Plan and the values of the Board of Trustees and the community,” the release reads.

Corrine Rahman, chair of the Planning and Priorities Advisory Committee said she is “confident” the new budget will support the needs of students in the coming school year.

“This budget was a combination of the hard work of TVDSB staff in finding operational efficiencies, public input from the community, and the Board of Trustees in finding opportunities to support equitable access to programs for our students,” she added.

A one-time investment of $350,000 was allocated to four full-time equivalent positions in order to support special education as either learning support teachers or board certified behaviour analysts.

“These additional staffing allocations will support our students in Special Education who continue to be challenged by the affects of the global pandemic,” said Lori-Ann Pizzolatto, TVDSB board chair.

In addition, a separate one-time investment of $100,000 is being allocated to the purchase of technological devices for student use.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for students to be digitally articulate and have access to the devices which make it possible to incorporate the learning more frequently," says Trustee Peter Cuddy.

Highlights of the 2022-2023 budget include:

• Reflects staff changes related to a significant increase in enrolment due to the COVID-19 recovery, along with an increase in migration from other regions of Ontario
• A one-year $11.2 million COVID-19-related learning recovery grant, allocated to additional staff supports
• $3.5 million for tutoring supports to address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic
• Two new full-time equivalent positions related to equity will be created, focusing on an Indigenous education teacher on special assignment and a system principal for equity

The preliminary budget was presented during a meeting on May 31 and officially approved during a meeting held on June 21.