It’s Budget Season in Peace River North: SD60 presents amended 2023-24 budget

With enrollment numbers less than initially anticipated, the Operating Revenues and Expenses in the amended School District 60 budget for the 2023-24 school year are correspondingly lower. The School District arrives at its estimated enrollment by subtracting the grads and adding in the Kindergarten registrations.

Based on an enrollment of 6,145.7 Full-time equivalent students, SD60 will receive $76.2 million from the Ministry of Education and Childcare, which accounts for 98 percent of the district’s operating revenue. As a result of the slightly lower-than-predicted enrollment, savings needed to be found to balance the budget.

“Our amended budget is reflective of the actual enrollment on September 30,” Secretary Treasurer Angela Telford told trustees at the February 20 Board of Education meeting.

“The FTE of our student enrollment drives the Ministry funding that we receive,” Telford explained.

From the preliminary to the amended the district down approximately 141, both because of students who didn’t show up as anticipated, and changes to how some programs are funded at the secondary level. This translates to a decrease between the preliminary and amended budgets of $1.478 million.

While funding from the Ministry is the District’s largest source of income, Distance Learning has three sources of funding available, and Special Needs has two. The District’s investment income also increased, thanks to the continued increase in interest rates.

“We have a decrease in expenses, of $930,955 in order to get our budget to balance,” said Telford. Expenses were reduced in the Transportation and Operations and Maintenance departments, areas where savings have to be made as Telford says they cannot make cuts to teachers or support staff in schools.

“The goal is to not interrupt instructional programs, because that’s what we’re here to deliver,” she said. “In the transportation piece there was some cautiousness built in . . . we aren’t having the same level of casual replacements.”

This doesn’t mean any changes to the levels of busing for students, simply some economies and a reduction in repairs which were taken care of in previous years, so are no longer on the books.  Telford noted that Transportation Supervisor Cindy Dettling “was very good at triaging what we should and shouldn’t do. So, there’s no cut to services being provided.”

Funds of $720,000 from the accumulated surplus are being used this year, not to cover a deficit, but to cover some planned spending in the budget including support for numeracy and literacy initiatives, the Wonowon portable move and some capital expenditures such as vehicles that needed to be replaced.

The Amended Budget Bylaw comes out to $100.2 million and includes $80.3 million of Operating Expenses, $13.3 million in Special Purpose Funds, and $5.8 million in the Capital Fund. The Capital Fund includes amortization of SD60’s assets.