HDSB Chair Points Out That Spending Reserve Funds is Robbing Peter to Pay Paul

By Pepper Parr

October 5th, 2020

BURLINGTON, ON

The flow of information from the Halton District School Board and the parents with children in school could be better.
Parents do get information from teachers, especially for those students who are being taught virtually.

What the parents are not getting is the bigger picture – information that sets out what the Board of Education is up against and the challenges they have to overcome.

It is October and we are hearing of what is called “June burnout” on the part of teachers.

They are being asked to do a job that isn’t the cake walk that a lot of parents talk about – they now have to perform under very different circumstances.

A thicker flow of information would be useful.

Where the parents in Halton are being informed is through the Chair of the Board of trustees. Andrea Grebenc, serving her second term as a trustee, now has a much firmer grip on the job and she is speaking out.

Chair Grebenc listening to Director of Education Stuart Miller

Grebenc has an excellent working relationship with her Director of Education Stuart Miller.

There are issues that Miller can’t say all that much about – but the Chair can.

Over the weekend Chair Grebenc said the funding is not what the province is saying publicly. Her Board decided to use $6.1 million out of the reserve funds to cover pandemic related expenses, “that is $6.1 million that was earmarked for other expenses.

“As an example, if we say OK allocate these reserve funds to hire more teaching staff, then we won’t be able to afford to give this school, this school, and that school the air conditioning they have been begging for for years. That’s the trade-off we are looking at. It’s not just money sitting around doing nothing” Grebenc said.

“It’s robbing Peter to pay Paul” she added.

In Halton about 20% of the students are being taught virtually. There is an opportunity for them to move from being virtual to in-class students. The Board at this point has no idea how many will make the switch.