Montreal, June 13, 2025 – The Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA) is astounded, outraged and deeply alarmed by the Government of Quebec’s latest announcement of devastating budget cuts to public education.
School boards and service centres across the province were informed, yesterday that a staggering $510 million in additional cuts would be expected throughout the Quebec education system. This, on top of the $200 million already slashed earlier this school year. These new cuts are expected to take effect in July allowing only one day of consultation for school boards and service centres to react. Approximately 10% of this new burden will fall on English-language school boards. Worse yet, school boards are prohibited from using any existing accumulated surplus to mitigate the damage.
“This government is expecting us to make these astronomical cuts on the backs of our students, which is completely unacceptable,” said QESBA President Joe Ortona. “These reckless decisions will have devastating and long-term consequences for an entire generation of students. We are denouncing both the substance and the manner of this announcement. The government has given school boards just 24 hours to respond to what can only be described as a direct assault on the viability of our public education system,” said QESBA President Joe Ortona.
“Our answer is a clear and resounding NO, full stop,” continued Ortona. “We are always prepared to discuss and work towards constructive solutions that serve our students, parents, and the communities we serve. This financial crisis was not created by school boards, and we will not allow our school system’s integrity to be sacrificed to solve this government’s deficit,” concluded the President.
QESBA is calling on all partners in education, parents, and community members to stand united against these cuts. The future of our children and the strength of our democratic institutions depend on a robust, equitable, and properly funded public education system.
QESBA is the voice of English public education in Québec and represents 100,000 students in 306 elementary, high schools, adult education and vocational centres across Québec.
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