We now have our budget information for 2009/10 and have confirmed our need to reduce the school district budget by $3.6 million next year. Before talking about those necessary and dramatic cuts (see next paragraph), I must say that I appreciate that government came through on its commitment to fund education at the level promised one year ago. During these tought times it was gratifying to see that the education ministry did not see reductions. That said, we remain concerned on two levels. One is that the allocation system seems not to reflect the true needs in districts. The money that is sent may need to be divided up differently. The other is that the relative increase in funding (same money, fewer students) is not keeping up with the real cost of providing educational services. Thus the need to cut. This was rather well captured in the Times Colonists editorial of March 17, 2009. We hope to see a review of the funding model in the coming year and would, of course, be happy to participate.
However, even as we press for provincial dialogue on education funding, we have work to do. Our immediate task is to prepare a balanced budget in May, and we can only do that by cutting $3.6 million worth of programs and services. Make no mistake. This will be a difficult and painful exercise. We have published our list of budget reduction options, along with implications, and are looking for feedback, either through the processes described on our website or directly to budget@sd63.bc.ca, or via responding to this posting. We need all the help we can get. You will see some serious reduction options including eliminating a number of education assistant jobs, reducing by 10 enrolling teachers (after reducing by 6.5 for enrolment decline), reducing the school calendar, closing one of our individual learning centres, and more.
Please contribute to the budget dialogue. After reducing steadily for 12 years, we have hit a cliff unlike any we have encountered before. Thank you for your ongoing support and involvement.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Thank you for the updates and the links.
A lot of consideration has been put into the options, that much is clear. Whatever happens, it's going to be very difficult for the district.
Crazy idea but....Has SD 63 approached potential patrons? There are some very wealthy philanthropists in our area (they build community theatres and support many other non-profit ventures). Maybe a few would "adopt" the expenses of a classroom or two, sponsor an apprenticeship program, cover a school's hydro bill for the year? Many are retired or family-based so there wouldn't even necessarily be the issue of whether to accept a corporate donation....and maybe a creative effort to raise funds in this manner would also help generate more public awareness that could shame the province into properly funding the education of its children.
I know this won't solve the huge deficit. But every little bit might slightly reduce the pressure.....
It's frustrating that the provincial funding formula has not yet been improved! (And the government wouldn't step up to the plate when it had huge surpluses; it's less likely to now.)
Post a Comment