Full details on presentations, reports, and discussions can be found in the agenda or reviewed in the recorded broadcast.
Trustees with the Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB) met on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. Here are the key items that were discussed in the public session.
STEO Advises UCDSB Trustees to Brace for Major Cuts to Transportation Service
During the Feb. 11 Board of Trustees Meeting, Janet Murray, General Manager of Student Transportation of Eastern Ontario (STEO), updated UCDSB Trustees on the transportation consortium’s plan to address the projected $11 million transportation funding shortfall that will be seen in the 2027-28 school year.
Murray indicated to Trustees that the current level of service STEO provides far exceeds the provincial standards that the new funding model takes into consideration. One measure to help close the funding gap would be to align service with provincial standards. However, this would mean more students walking to school, longer distances to bus stops and more students having longer bus rides.
Currently, STEO aims to have no more than 3 per cent of students on buses for more than 60 minutes. The provincial standard is a maximum ride time of 75 minutes for elementary students and 90 minutes for secondary students. These service level changes could lead to a significant impact on families in Eastern Ontario since most students, from both UCDSB and the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario (CDSBEO), are bused to and from school.
Murray also confirmed that STEO will enter a competitive procurement process, which will have bus companies bid for service contracts. The intent of this is to create a market where bus companies will offer more attractive pricing options.
Other cost-saving measures looked at were to partner with public transit authorities, replace vans with contracted taxis, or require more parents/guardians to transport their children to school.
Murray made it clear that even with these and other measures STEO is considering, there would still be a funding gap of almost $8 million. STEO member boards (the UCDSB and CDSBEO) would need to cover this shortfall by re-directing funds from priority areas to transportation.
Trustees shared some concerns and fielded several questions to STEO around how these potential changes would impact UCDSB students and families.
Murray said the STEO Board of Directors expects to make final decisions about possible changes in the fall of 2026, to prepare for the 2027-28 school year.
Director Updates Work Plan to Better Align with Provincial Priorities
Director Ron Ferguson presented Trustees with the updated Director's Work Plan for 2025-26. This strategic documents adds action to the directions set out in the Multi-Year Strategic Plan (MYSP), which was updated by Trustees on January 14. Both the Director’s Work Plan and the MYSP align with provincial priorities.
A highlight of the goals and priorities, and some of the action items are as follows:
Reading, Writing, Math and Student Success
Ensure students read, write and do math at grade level, and graduate on time with the skills they need to be successful.
Initiatives:
- Use effective teaching strategies to support every child’s learning in reading, writing, and math.
Staff Supports
Provide staff with the tools and resources they need to ensure student success.
Initiatives:
- Use staff survey data to strengthen workplace culture, well-being, and support.
- Implement staff attendance supports to ensure consistent staffing and positive learning outcomes for students.
- Improve recruitment, succession, and hiring processes to promote staff and student stability.
Responsible Spending
Continue to deliver balanced budgets and ensure resources are responsibly focused on students.
Initiatives:
- Make sure budget gets spent in ways that have the biggest impact on students and families.
- Continue to deliver balanced budgets, ensuring spending is in line with Ministry of Education direction.
- Grow staff awareness of financial policies and procedures to ensure responsible spending.
- Avoid needless disruption to the classroom by managing financial risks.
The full plan with specific details on each goal can be found on the UCDSB website.
2026-27 School Year Calendar Approved by Trustees
Executive Superintendent Chris Boulay presented the 2026-27 School Year Calendar to Trustees. This calendar takes into consideration specific direction from the Ministry of Education and feedback collected during the consultation period. The calendar is developed in partnership with the Catholic School Board of Eastern Ontario due to shared transportation costs, and to avoid additional costs to the UCDSB.
The proposed calendar also considers the need to have 97 instructional days in semester 1 and semester 2, and seven professional activity days balanced throughout the school year.
Highlights of the calendar include the following:
- First Day of School for Students: Wednesday, September 2, 2026
- Last Day of School for Students: Friday, June 25, 2027
- Winter Holiday Break: December 21, 2026 - January 1, 2027
- March Break: March 15-19, 2027
Professional Activity days are as follows:
- Tuesday, September 1, 2026
- Monday, October 26, 2026
- Friday, November 27, 2026
- Friday, January 29, 2027
- Friday, April 23, 2027
- Friday, May 28, 2027
- Monday, June 28, 2027
Trustees approved the calendar as presented. It will now be submitted to the Ministry of Education for final approval.