Peel's public and Catholic school boards have finalized their 2026-27 budgets without traditional public consultation, after the Ford government stripped both boards of their governance powers and placed them under provincial supervision.
The Peel District School Board approved its $2.165-billion budget on June 25, and the document has now been posted on the board's website, The Pointer reported. It is the first budget released since the province took control of the PDSB in March, citing infighting and a misuse of funds.
The budget reduces the board's projected deficit from a preliminary $35 million to $10.9 million, a change the PDSB credits to $24.1 million in "Supervisor Savings." Most of those savings come from central office staffing changes, including the elimination of 25 positions deemed surplus, along with school management and facilities reductions tied to vacancies and attrition.
The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board's 2026-27 operating budget totals $1.067 billion. It projects a deficit of $35.4 million after supervisor savings, and an accumulated deficit of $150.7 million as of Aug. 31, 2027. That budget remains sealed from public view.
Parents and teachers say they've been shut out
Instead of the in-person feedback sessions parents, teachers and community groups expected before the Catholic board's budget was tabled, the province substituted an online feedback form on the DPCDSB website.
NDP education critic Chandra Pasma, MPP for Ottawa West-Nepean, told The Pointer the lack of consultation matters because budgets determine what happens inside schools. "They're incredibly important, both for transparency and because parents and teachers and education workers and community members deserve to have a say in our schools," she said.
Lori Austin, president of the Dufferin-Peel Elementary Unit of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association, said the exclusion fits a pattern. "We're not included in really anything," she said. "We're excluded from conversations about supervision, about the future of education and governance in this board."
Austin pointed to mounting pressures in Brampton schools, including overcrowded classrooms, growing special education demands, staff shortages and aging infrastructure. She said health and safety issues, including elevated lead levels in drinking water at some older Brampton schools, have affected learning.
The PDSB's special education fund fell by $7.5 million year over year, including a $5.4-million cut to per-pupil special education funding and an $828,000 reduction for specialized equipment for students with disabilities.
Livestream ban adds to transparency concerns
Concerns about transparency deepened after school boards under supervision were banned from livestreaming meetings, including those of the Special Education Advisory Committee. According to the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance, Education Minister Paul Calandra said he "made this decision to maintain meetings that are productive, professional, and focused on improving student success and achievement, rather than serving as a forum for political commentary."
SEAC chair Lea Ann Mallett, who learned of the ban 20 minutes into a May 19 meeting, called the move frustrating. "Everybody should be able to log in and watch that," she said, describing it as another example of government secrecy. Pasma called the livestreaming ban "completely outrageous."
The PDSB takeover is the eighth school board the provincial government has assumed control of. The Ministry of Education did not respond to requests for comment, according to The Pointer.