The Lambton Kent District School Board is scrambling after cuts to provincial funding. 
The axe came down late last week on the “education project-other” budget line, eliminating money that had been used for special programs like tutoring and some extracurricular activities.
Board officials say they’re now facing a $900,000 shortfall, and while the cuts weren’t entirely unexpected, it’s still a heavy blow in the middle of the school year.
“We knew there would be cuts based on the new government and their campaign comments,” Director of Education Jim Costello says, “so we have made room in the budget for some of these cuts, but not all of them.”
Most of the projects are in addition to the regular class room experience, like math tutoring, mental health initiatives, and other after school events.
“In some cases, like Black History Month, which is important to us, we’ll find another way to (fund) that,” Costello says. “If things are high priority, we’re going to move money around or find another way to achieve it.”