The Board recently notified the Local that it plans to eliminate 20.75 positions for the upcoming school year, including 16.5 Educational Assistants (EA), one Early Childhood Educator (ECE), 2.25 custodial positions, and one clerical position. The latest reductions come just one year after approximately 70 education worker positions were eliminated across the Board, leaving many schools struggling to meet students’ needs.
CUPE 4148 represents approximately 550 education workers, including EAs, clerical staff, custodians, maintenance workers, ECEs, and other support staff at the Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board.
“These cuts are simply unacceptable,” said Crystal Krauter, President of CUPE 4148. “Our members are already stretched to their limits, and eliminating more frontline education worker positions will only increase workloads and leave schools with even fewer supports. Instead of investing in the staff our schools need, the Board is asking fewer workers to do even more.”
The staffing crisis at HSCDSB was already exacerbated by the board’s decision to eliminate 70 Educational Assistant (EA) positions in June 2025 due to the loss of Jordan’s Principal funding – a program designed to ensure First Nations children receive the care they need without delay caused by jurisdictional disputes. The loss of an additional 16.5 EAs in the 2026-2027 school year will be devastating for students.
EAs are already being expected to juggle multiple responsibilities because there are not enough staff available. In some cases, members are being assigned physically demanding student supports without adequate assistance, while 6.5-hour EAs are expected to supervise kindergarten lunch periods and carry out their regular EA duties. Remaining clerical responsibilities will be redistributed to fewer staff, while the work currently performed by the 2.25 custodial positions being eliminated will be divided among the remaining custodial staff, who are already stretched thin.
The Board has cited declining enrolment and reduced funding as the reasons for the cuts. However, enrolment is projected to decline by just 18 students across the Board next year, while provincial funding is expected to increase by approximately 2.6 per cent, representing roughly $2.3 million in additional funding. Board staffing data also shows the student-to-EA ratio continues to worsen, leaving fewer staff available to meet the growing demands in schools.
The OSBCU says these cuts reflect a broader pattern driven by chronic underfunding of education in Ontario since 2018.
“What we’re seeing at Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board is part of a broader pattern, where education workers are being asked to pay the price for underfunding,” said Joe Tigani, President of the OSBCU. “These are the people who support students with special needs, maintain safe schools and ensure schools function every day. Cutting these workers hurts everyone.”
CUPE 4148 and the OSBCU are calling on the province to properly fund education and on the Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board to immediately reverse these job cuts.
“Students deserve safe, supported learning environments,” Tigani said. “That starts with investing in the workers who make that possible. The OSBCU stands behind CUPE 4148 members as they fight back. We are united in defending good jobs, protecting vital services, and pushing back against a system that continues to undervalue education workers and the students they serve.”
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For more information, please contact:
Chitra Kunnath
CUPE Communications
[email protected]
416-317-0285
