School boards looking at possible $300K bill inside next year’s calendar
Posted Feb 27, 2026 07:45:16 AM.
Last Updated Feb 27, 2026 11:15:45 AM.
Waterloo Region’s public and Catholic school boards may be looking at an almost $300,000 bill as the two release the drafts for next year’s calendars, all due to a misalignment in professional activity (PA) days.
The two local boards have submitted draft proposals for the 2026-2027 school calendars, which has been sent over to the Ministry of Education for approval.
In order to be approved, those calendars must include 194 designated school days at a minimum, as well as seven PA days, three of which are required to be slated for specific provincial education priorities.
As those calendars are prepared, the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) and the Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) work to align those two calendars across their elementary and secondary levels. This is done through a joint committee that works to compare schedules throughout the year.
With those school calendars now submitted, though, it appears there are a few misalignments between the boards, namely two designated PA days.
Important dates for families to keep in mind:
- First day of school – Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026
- Last day before Christmas Break – Friday, Dec. 18, 2026
- First day back from Christmas Break – Monday, Jan. 4, 2027
- Last day of school for public secondary schools – Monday, June 28, 2027
- Last day of school for public elementary schools – Tuesday, June 29, 2027
- Last day of school for Catholic schools – Tuesday, June 29, 2027
“The proposal for the 2026 to 2027 school year results in two unaligned days,” said Superintendent Jay Fedosoff with WRDSB, saying it will lead to a total impact of $286,688.
During a recent WRDSB board meeting, he stated that the public board will bear the brunt of the bill, currently pegged at $189,756 for its share, and the Catholic board will take on the remainder.
“This misalignment is primarily due to reporting and assessment days,” Fedosoff stated. “What you have is a day for elementary reporting and assessment, and a day for secondary reporting and assessment in both semesters.”
The almost $300,000 bill stems from the impacted changes to transportation scheduling, requiring a shift in bus operations between the two boards.
Both WRDSB and WCDSB share the same service: the Student Transportation Services of Waterloo Region. It means that if one school has a scheduled PA day, while the other doesn’t, those school buses would still need to be dispatched.
If those PA days were aligned, it would mean saved costs as those buses would not need to be sent out at all.
The school boards have said that, even with the difference in scheduling and the incurred cost from misalignment on those PA days, they believe the shared bus service is the most cost-effective, collaborative, and efficient approach to transportation operations.
For parents, it’s important to know that, according to the released calendars, there would be no PA day following Labour Day in September, so the first day of classes is set for Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026.
