BROCKVILLE/KEMPTVILLE — CUPE Locals 4154 and 5678 are condemning recent staff reductions at the region’s two English-language school boards. In all, over 50 full-time equivalent positions will be cut by the two boards.
The Upper Canada District School Board notified Local 5678 of 31.32 FTE positions being eliminated in time for the 2026-27 school year. This includes early childhood educators, instructional assistants, and English-as-a-Second-Language instructors. The union says the board will also restructure the LIFT program, which was implemented when the UCDSB integrated resources from TR Leger School of Adult, Alternative and Continuing Education campuses into the mainstream schools.
The Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario will eliminate about 20 FTE positions including student support workers, information communications technology staff, and custodians and school office administrators who work as relief workers for other staff off work. The union says the board is also restructuring school secretary positions school secretary positions, which are 12-month positions, to 10-month positions to coincide with the school year.
“Our schools are already critically understaffed. Instead of investing in the supports students clearly need, the board is eliminating front-line workers who provide direct care, intervention, emotional support, and stability in our schools every single day,” said Jacob Casselman, Local 5678 president.
Local 4154 President Trudy Scott called the CDSBEO cuts a direct attack on front-line workers.
“The Board is framing this as an overall reduction of 1.5 per cent, but that does not even begin to come close to the reality of the full impact. Once again, they’ve chosen to balance their budget on the backs of education workers,” Scott said.
Both boards are set to release their budgets by the end of June for the following school year beginning in September.
The union highlighted recent findings in Ontario’s Auditor General’s report on special education oversight. That report cited inconsistent implementation of Individual Education Plans and failing to ensure supports outlined in the plans are provided.
Chris Boulay, executive superintendent at the UCDSB, said that the board is required to align its staffing with budget and the board’s projected enrolment.
“These decisions are made within the framework of applicable legislation and our collective agreements, which establish clear processes to ensure fairness and consistency. While the reduction of positions is occurring within the UCDSB for the 2026-27 school year, the Board remains committed to supporting employees through this process and to minimizing impacts wherever possible,” Boulay told The Leader.
CDSBEO spokesperson Amber LaBerge said the staff restructuring was the board’s way of focusing resources on students where their learning needs are greatest.
“No resources are being taken away from students,” she said, responding to The Leader. “Instead, resources are being restructured to better align with, and respond to, the needs we see in our classrooms today.”
LaBerge continued that since 2023, the CDSBEO has added over 40 positions represented by CUPE members.
“For context, the planned staffing changes would result in an overall CDSBEO CUPE workforce reduction of less than 1.5 per cent. In addition, we are increasing educational assistant positions across the system,” she said.
Neither board would comment specifically on which individual schools will see positions cut from.
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