Upper Grand District School Board moves ahead with layoffs
Union president says custodial cuts mean reduced cleaning in schools
GUELPH – Layoffs are coming soon to the custodial department at the Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB), and critics are concerned schools will be less clean as a result.
Union officials confirmed 12 caretakers will be laid off and nine vacant custodial positions will not be filled come September – meaning there will be 21 (nine per cent) fewer caretakers and maintenance staff at the UGDSB.
The board will issue layoff notices to affected staff this week, union officials say.
In early July, the UGDSB confirmed 21 custodial positions would be cut, which at that time meant 15 layoffs and six vacant positions not being filled.
That's on top of the 100 layoff notices the board sent to teachers and early childhood educators in March.
Robin George
CUPE Local 256 met with the UGDSB on July 27 with hopes of negotiating an agreement to reduce the custodial layoffs.
“We left our meeting dissatisfied,” said union president Bill Foster.
He said CUPE asked for the number of custodial supervisors to be reduced, instead of cutting staff with the least seniority, but “the answer was 'no.'"
All supervisors are set to remain, and cleaning will be reduced, Foster said the board told the union.
There will be nine managers overseeing 204 custodial staff: four supervisors and a senior facilities manager for 160 caretakers, and three supervisors plus a senior supervisor for 44 maintenance workers, Foster said.
In 2025, the senior facilities manager was paid $206,816 and the manager of custodial services $181,918, according to the Public Sector Salary Disclosure List or Sunshine List.
The caretakers facing layoffs each make about $50,000 annually, Foster said.
Union officials asked the board to reduce managers’ pay to free up funds for more caretakers and maintenance workers, but board officials refused, saying cleaning in schools would be reduced instead, Foster told the Advertiser.
When the union asked how the schools would be sufficiently cleaned, no answer was given, he added.
UGDSB representative Megan Sicoli previously told the Advertiser the board’s “incredibly talented and hard-working staff are dedicated to ensuring welcoming and clean learning and working environments” despite the staffing cuts.
“We remain committed to delivering the same high level of cleanliness, consistency and attention to detail,” she said.
Foster said CEO Peter Sovran, associate director (and future CEO) Brent McDonald and superintendent Deirdre Pyke blamed the caretaker and maintenance layoffs on teacher absenteeism.
But CUPE officials say that doesn’t add up, as teachers are represented by different unions than custodians.
When they expressed their confusion, Foster said they were met with “‘well, the cost is too high.’”
Sicoli said “if even one fifth of those anticipated absenteeism costs could be avoided, the board would have nearly $4 million of revenue that could be allocated to additional staff like caretakers, clerical and other valuable roles.”
Sovran, McDonald, Pyke, Sicoli and spokesperson Heather Loney did not respond to the Advertiser’s requests for comment in time for publication, with Sovran, McDonald and Loney sending automatic emails stating they are away from the office until next week.
The Ontario School Board Council of Unions (OSBCU) is publicly condemning the UGDSB, saying officials opted for “significant staffing cuts despite ongoing understaffing and increasing workload pressures.”
The council calls the cuts part of a broader pattern caused by “chronic underfunding” of education in Ontario since 2018.
Sicoli said the changes reflect the “needed amount” of custodial staff due to decreased enrolment impacting overall revenue.
Enrolment is projected to decrease by about 2%, and the total operating revenue is 0.5% higher next year than last.
