UGDSB to pay $77,000 to school board association for annual membership

GUELPH  – It will cost the Upper Grand District School Board $76,936 plus tax to be a member of the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association (OPSBA) for the 2025-26 school year.

The board approved the fees without discussion during a Sept. 23 meeting.

Board chair Ralf Mesenbrink presented a report on the membership fees during a finance and facilities committee meeting on Sept. 16.

OPSBA represents English public district school boards and public school authorities across Ontario, he noted, which include more than 1.3 million students.

“The association advocates on behalf of the best interests and needs of the public school system in Ontario,” states a report from the finance and facilities committee.

Membership fees pay for OPSBA’s public education advocacy, research, professional development, networking, and negotiating and supporting collective agreements, the report states.

For the 2024-25 school year the UGDSB paid OPSBA $76,173 plus HST, and in 2023-24 it paid $72,984 plus HST.