By the Numbers

At the June 23, 2025 Special Board Meeting, Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) trustees approved a balanced budget. The 2025-26 school year budget includes $958 million in operating expenses and a capital budget of $90 million.

 

The development of the WRDSB’s operating budget includes many factors which can change over the course of a school year. The process to develop the annual operating budget include:

• Obtaining Ministry funding and directives

• Establishing the WRDSB’s financial position (accumulated surplus and deficit)

• Alignment with the WRDSB’s Strategic Plan

 

The 2025-26 budget prioritizes investments in key areas, including early literacy, mathematics, classroom safety, and mental health.

 

Targeted investments of $1.5M will be made to support the implementation of the Math Achievement Action Plan, including school-based staff and support for educator training, digital math tools and resources.

 

The WRDSB is committed to ensuring that every student is reading at grade level by the end of Grade 2. In support of that goal, targeted investments of $2.9M will be made to support the WRDSB’s Structured Literacy Multi-Year Plan. The funding will support school staff to build their capacity, and educators working directly with students to leverage high yield instructional strategies to improve their literacy.

 

In November 2025, the WRDSB announced additional investments totalling approximately $12.9M. These strategic investments, which will occur during the 2025-26 and 2026-27 school years, further demonstrate our commitment to improving student achievement through our focus on literacy and math. They also demonstrate our responsive approach to concerns that have been raised regarding student behaviour and classroom safety, by increasing the number of in-school staff available to respond to challenges as they arise.

 

We want to ensure that we continue to prioritize the long-term financial stability of the WRDSB, while making strategic investments that support students and staff. This approach ensures stability while enabling impactful, system-level improvements aligned with the WRDSB’s multi-year strategic objectives.

Learn more about the WRDSB 2025-26 Budget.