Families of children with complex needs fear loss of educational assistants The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board is Ottawa's largest, but it has struggled with four deficits in recent years and is aiming to avoid a fifth. (Kate Porter/CBC) Social Sharing X Email Reddit LinkedIn Ottawa's largest school board plans to cut 150 full-time positions by the next school year as it faces both a slight drop in kindergarten enrolment and a projected $20-million budget shortfall. The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) expects to find savings of $15.9 million in salaries and benefits by shedding 79.5 non-academic positions, plus another 70 teachers, principals and vice-principals. The board sees reducing staff by 178 positions overall when it counts positions that won't have funding because it doesn't have the students to support them. Staffing makes up 81 per cent of the board's $1.2-billion operating budget, which trustees must a...