Sudbury Catholic school board wrestles mounting deficit

The Sudbury Catholic District School Board is cutting $1.2 million dollars from its budget in an attempt to lower its deficit.

The chair of the board said it is facing a $2.5 million deficit from last year, and adds the board doesn't want to see that number grow.

Jody Cameron said a number of initiatives are being taken to reduce costs, including having teachers take three days without pay each year.

He also said changes will be made to how the schools are maintained.

"In the facilities area, we're looking at depleting some of our inventory levels of custodial supplies that will generate some one-time savings," Cameron said.

"And we're also looking at some planned reductions for the custodial summer cleaning program."

Cameron says the board is meeting in the next few weeks to come up with a plan to address the rest of the deficit.

Like most school boards in the province, the Sudbury Catholic Board is seeing a decline in student enrolment, he added.