Financial AccountabilityLegislationThe Education Act and its accompanying regulations define the key expectations for school boards and provide directions to boards for the wise and prudent management of their school systems. Balanced BudgetsSchool boards are required to adopt balanced budgets. Under section 231 of the Act, when preparing and adopting budgets (estimates) for the fiscal year, boards are required to ensure that estimated expenditures do not exceed estimated revenues. The budgets must be adopted prior to the beginning of the fiscal year, or at an earlier time, as prescribed by the Minister. Typically, school boards are required to adopt budgets by June 30 for the next fiscal year beginning September 1. It is not a contravention of the Act for a board to end the fiscal year with either a surplus or a deficit. However, it is a requirement of the Act for school boards, in preparing their budgets on June 30 for the next fiscal year beginning September 1, to make a projection of and to provide for any deficit for the current year ending August 31. Investment and BorrowingSections 241 through 249 of the Act and the accompanying regulations provide the authority, and the limitations, for how district school boards can invest and borrow money. School boards are expected to actively manage their cash flow, prudently invest any excess funds and enter into competitive arrangements for short-term and long-term financing. Requirements Under the Education Accountability ActThe Education Accountability Act, passed in June 2000, and revisions passed in June 2001 under the Stability and Excellence in Education Act, defined a number of expectations for school boards that, because of their magnitude, affect the overall financial management of each board. Average Class SizeSchool boards are required, under section 170.1 of the Education Act and Ontario Regulation 399/00, as amended, to meet province-wide standards for class size. In the 2000-2001 school year, the average class size for a board could not exceed a maximum of 24 students overall at the primary level (JK to Grade 3), 24.5 students overall at the elementary level (JK to Grade 8) and 21 students overall at the secondary level. Beginning in the 2001-2002 school year, a board can increase, by resolution, its average class size in secondary up to 22 in order to provide students with greater access to teachers and other resources. The requirements for increasing secondary school class sizes are defined in Ontario Regulation 276/01. Boards are required to report the average class size for the board and for each school to the public and to the Minister, by December 15 for elementary schools and by April 30 for secondary schools. The ministry publishes average class sizes from past school years for each board as part of the board profiles on the ministry's public website. Further information is available in the Report on class size. Secondary School Teaching AssignmentsSection 170.2 of the Act defines the minimum instructional time for teachers in secondary schools. The Act requires teachers of a board to teach an average of 6.67 eligible courses or programs during the school year. Ontario Regulation 274/01 outlines the programs, or other duties, such as Teacher Advisor Program and supervision, that make up the teacher's workload (secondary school teaching assignments). Trustee RemunerationSection 191 of the Act places a limit on the honorarium that may be paid to district school board trustees ($5,000 for each trustee of a district school board, plus an additional $5,000 allowance for the Board Chair and Vice-Chair). Trustees may also receive reimbursement for reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with their duties. Information on the role and responsibilities of trustees can be found in Educating Together, A Handbook for Trustees, School Boards and Communities, published by the Ontario Public School Boards' Association. Spending RestrictionsWhile school boards have the flexibility to allocate their resources where they are needed to provide the best education for their students, there are four areas under the Student-Focused Funding model in which spending restrictions apply. These restrictions, or enveloping provisions, apply to classroom spending, administration and governance, special education and pupil accommodation. Classroom SpendingUnder the Foundation Grant and other special purpose grants, the amounts allocated by the ministry for the classroom must be spent by boards in the classroom. Funds may be moved from non-classroom expenditure categories into classroom expenditure categories, but not from classroom spending to non-classroom spending. If a board has not achieved the funding model revenue target for classroom spending, an amount equal to the unspent portion must be placed in a Reserve for Classroom Expenditures. Board Administration and GovernanceThe board's expenditure on board administration and governance cannot exceed the revenue allocated for that purpose under the School Board Administration and Governance Grant. Special EducationThe funds allocated under the Special Education Grant must be spent on special education. Otherwise, boards are required to place an amount equal to the under-spending in a Reserve for Special Education. Pupil AccommodationThe amounts allocated under the Pupil Accommodation Grant for school renewal and new pupil places must be spent by the board for that purpose (i.e. construction of new schools and additions, major repairs and renovations). Unused portions of the funds must be placed in a Pupil Accommodation Reserve. If it comes to the attention of the ministry that a board has not met the legislated expectations or enveloping provisions of the Education Act, the ministry may use any number of compliance measures to bring the board into compliance with the Act.
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