Chair’s Message: EMSB Calls upon the government to cover more than $10 million in COVID-19 expenses not budgeted
Montreal, February 24, 2021 - On behalf of the Council of Commissioners of the English Montreal School Board (EMSB), I thought it was important to update the community on the financial situation of the Board after our second quarter budget review. Our financial position is worse than anticipated. This is largely due to costs associated with the pandemic, which could result in more than $10 million alone in COVID-19 related expenses, which are not budgeted. Context The current Council of Commissioners took office less than four months ago in the midst of the pandemic and after the EMSB had been under trusteeship for a year. While we have focused on the safety and well-being of our community, the evaluation and implementation of the Transformation Plan and the recruitment of our next Director General, the increasingly deteriorating financial position of the EMSB should be of concern to all stakeholders. In June of 2020, the government appointed Trustee adopted a 2020-2021 budget o