EMSB requests permission to use surplus funds to balance budget
The Council of Commissioners of the English Montreal School Board has adopted a budget, with revenues of $ $459,458,409 for the 2025-2026 academic year. This includes a deficit of $7,818,268.
EMSB Chair Joe Ortona emphasized that if the Quebec government provides permission to use 15 percent of the adjusted June 30, 2024 accumulated surplus as was allowed in previous years, then a balanced budget can still be achieved.
“The current budgetary situation was forced upon us by the Quebec government,” Mr. Ortona explained. “For the past 20 years we have been able to access 15 percent of our surplus. We implore the Quebec government to allow us to do so again. We have all worked hard to consolidate services at the board and school levels to save additional money.”
Mr. Ortona added that the EMSB has deployed substantial efforts to reduce expenses in compliance with collective agreements while minimizing as much as possible impacts on students, including by not filling vacancies at all levels of the school board. “The scale of budgetary compressions required and the timing of their communication makes impacts on students, including those with special needs, unavoidable,” he stated. “I find it deeply regrettable that we have been placed in this situation.”
About the English Montreal School Board
With a youth and adult sector population of more than 35,000 students, the English Montreal School Board (EMSB) is the largest English public school board in Quebec. Established on July 1, 1998, when the province created new boards along linguistic lines, the EMSB network consists of 73 schools and centres. For more details, visit the EMSB website at www.emsb.qc.ca.
