It’s all about “right sizing” the Delta School District’s operating budget.
That’s how secretary treasurer Nicola Christ described coming up with a balanced budget for 2023/24, which contains no significant cuts while taking into account a complex myriad of financial considerations.
On Tuesday, Christ provided the Optimist with a rundown on the budgeting decisions, focused on decreasing program areas that have had limited impact on students, while also mitigating risk and ensuring long-term sustainability by reducing the reliance on reserve funds.
The savings include staffing model changes for librarians, but no loss of positions, as well as a couple of vacancies not filled in the vehicle servicing department and changes to educational programs that have the least impact.
The district is anticipating an increase in the number of English Language Learners and a decrease in the number of Inclusive Learning students in Levels 1, 2 and 3, which will decrease the amount of targeted funding overall for Inclusive Learning support.
The district for the 2022/23 school year ended up receiving more funding than expected due to increased enrolment, International Student Program revenues and investment income, all factors that are helping to keep the district in the black.
However, Christ noted the international program has not yet regained its previous level, so the district will continue to budget cautiously when it comes to that area.
Meanwhile, additional dollars from the province and a projected increase of almost 100 students for 2023/24 will help the district cover operational cost increases.
The district will also direct operational savings elsewhere including covering increasing illness costs that had not been budgeted, with the aim to rely less on reserve funding to cover those costs.
“We are fortunate that our early concerns regarding another difficult budget year were alleviated by the increase in operating grant funding received. This means that we were able to make strategic budget decisions to address cost increases without compounding some of the reductions made in previous years. This year, it has become clear that the amount currently budgeted for illness costs is no longer sufficient given the upward trend in staff illness,” Christ said.
The annual operating budget for 2023/24 is $187.3 million, up by $6.2 million from the 2022/23.
“Through our budget public engagement process, we recognize that providing support for Inclusive Learning continues to be a top priority for many of our rights holders. Inclusive Learning will remain a priority for using reserve funds to ensure continued levels of service quality. Additional priorities include supporting early literacy for students of Indigenous ancestry, regular staffing contingency, including increased illness costs, and replacement of aging technology,” Christ added.
A public input meeting on the budget will be held on Tuesday, April 18 at the school board’s offices in Ladner, starting at 7:30 p.m.
