Stratford and Huron-Perth families are heading into summer with a financial plan in place for local schools. On June 23, the Avon Maitland District School Board trustees approved a balanced operating budget for the 2026-2027 school year, with both revenues and expenses set at $264,040,793.
The decision sets the spending roadmap for student programs, staffing, and school operations across the board’s 40 schools. It comes just as the current school year wraps up, with the last day of classes on June 25.
Board Chair Michael Bannerman, who represents Stratford schools, led the meeting where the budget was approved. According to the 2026-2027 Budget Document, a key challenge is a projected enrolment drop of nearly two percent. Overall student numbers are expected to fall from 15,343 to 15,043, with secondary school enrolment declining by 5.67 percent. This triggers lower provincial grant money, which is tied to how many students are in classrooms.
To balance the books, the board trimmed staffing. There will be about 27 fewer classroom teachers and 18 fewer support staff, including educational assistants and school secretaries. Officials say the cuts reflect the lower enrolment and a push to match resources with where students are.
The board credits its financial stability to an internal spending review that started in August 2024. That process dug into past spending and adjusted future plans. Still, the budget document highlights ongoing pressures: special education funding does not cover the full cost of complex student needs, supply teacher costs are rising faster than funding, and the transportation funding model no longer covers actual busing expenses.
The board also approved a capital budget of $16.4 million, down from $27.9 million last year. The balanced position stands out across Ontario, where 25 of 72 school boards approved deficit budgets for 2025-2026 and five boards have been placed under provincial supervision for financial troubles.
Trustees say the budget protects local programs despite funding gaps. “We are pleased to report that the result of this work is a balanced operating budget for the 2026/2027 year,” Graham Shantz, Chief Executive Officer, wrote in the budget document, pointing to the ongoing Fiscal Review as a key tool in making data-driven decisions for students.
