$25M in education cuts hit local boards
Mélissa Gélinas
Local Journalism Initiative
Published in the Pontiac Journal on July 17, 2025.
OUTAOUAIS – The provincial government has ordered budget cuts totalling $510 million across all of Quebec’s school service centres and boards with a deadline of June 2026. For the Outaouais region, which represents about 5% of the province’s total population, that means cuts of $25 million for the 2025–2026 school year.
The Hauts-Bois-de-l’Outaouais School Service Centre (CSSHBO) must save over $1.6 million. “In a letter sent by the Ministry to Ms. Nadine Carpentier, Director General of CSSHBO, on June 12, the targeted budget optimization amount for our service centre was specified as $1,323,889,” explained Monia Lirette, CSSHBO Communications Coordinator. “That’s in addition to the $324,304 requested last December, bringing the total to $1,648,193,” she added.
According to Lirette, an analysis is currently underway with the Financial Resources Department, in collaboration with senior management and the school and centre administrators, to determine where the cuts can be made.
The Portages-de-l’Outaouais School Service Centre (CSSPO) faces cuts of approximately $11.4 million.
At the Western Québec School Board, which covers a large portion of the Outaouais, including the Pontiac and Abitibi-Témiscamingue regions, the total amount to be saved by next year is $4.5 million. “We were also asked for an additional $3.6 million, but we were able to justify that amount to the Ministry of Education,” said Pascal Proulx, Assistant Director General at the board. “We’ve already made the necessary efforts in staff optimization to ensure we’re not exceeding the number of employees we actually need,”
he added. According to Proulx, the $3.6 million should no longer be required due to these efforts.
To meet the required savings, the board eliminated 12 non-permanent or vacant positions. “We managed to cut $900,000,” said Proulx. “We also saved $85,000 by scaling back unused IT and software contracts.”
According to available information, additional cuts were made to travel budgets, non-essential contracts (such as window cleaning), tutoring programs, extracurricular activities and more. “We had to reinvent how we operate without affecting student services,” said Proulx. “The cuts didn’t happen as directly as they might seem,” he continued. “The entire organization believes the impact is significant, but we can still manage.”
“It’s unthinkable to cut funding in education,” said Pontiac MNA André Fortin. “Quebec Premier François Legault himself promised there would be no cuts in two sectors
— health and education — yet we’re seeing the exact opposite.”
According to Fortin, the cuts will directly impact services for students, particularly those with learning difficulties. “It’s already hard to access specialized support, and it’s those services that are likely to be cut,” he said. “I hope Mr. Legault remembers the promise he made and reconsiders how these budget cuts are being imposed on the education system.”
In addition, new restrictions will limit staffing in public schools across Quebec. In 2025–2026, the number of full-time employees may not exceed 152,500 — an increase of just 1.7%, compared to the average annual growth of 5 to 6%. Private schools must also reduce their expenses, with $56 million in savings required by June 2026.