Dufferin-Peel trustees agree to work with Education Minister to explore budget deficit issues Agree to Minister's request to temporarily suspend public information campaign
Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board trustees have accepted a proposal from the Ontario Minister of Education to form a joint working group, involving the Minister and Ministry of Education staff, and Trustees and school board staff, to explore the issues that led the board, one of the largest in Ontario, to recently file a $15.1 million deficit budget. Trustees further agreed, at the request of the Minister, to temporarily suspend the board's public information campaign; one that had galvanized community support for the board's assertion that its budget deficit was the result of chronic underfunding by the province.
"We are encouraged by this gesture by the Minister to meet on the issues," said Dufferin-Peel Chair, Peter Ferreira. "As a show of good faith, we have temporarily suspended our public information campaign pending the outcome of meetings involving the working group."
Discussions on the working group, including its composition, timelines, expectations and other matters, will be the subject of an initial meeting on January 18, Ferreira noted.
"In the meantime," said Ferreira, "the board would like to thank parents/guardians, students, staff and others in the community who voiced support for the board by contacting their local MPP and by signing and returning more than 31,000 postcards during our recent campaign to raise awareness around the budget deficit issue."
The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board has over 88,000 students in 139 schools located throughout Mississauga, Brampton, Caledon and Orangeville. With over 8,000 employees, it is also one of the largest employers in the region. It is a goal of the board to provide quality education in a setting that fosters Catholic values and beliefs.
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Contact:
Bruce E. Campbell, Manager,
Community Relations
(905) 890-0708, ext. 24466/(905) 609-1480
