Marieze Tarr, school board chair. (Richard McGuire photo)
A small $8-per-student increase in provincial education funding next year won’t make up for additional costs and declining enrolment.
The B.C. Ministry of Education informed School District 53 of the 2016-17 funding last Tuesday.
Any hopes that additional funding might relieve the pressure to close an Osoyoos school were shattered by the announcement.
Linda Minnabarriet, SD 53 secretary treasurer, said school district staff is analyzing the information to understand the impact and a draft budget will be provided to trustees in early April.
Marieze Tarr, school board chair, said the district expects to receive $22,868,568 from the province in 2016-17.
This represents a decrease of $420,000 from what was received in 2015-16, but it is an increase of $118,000 from what was previously expected.
Nonetheless, the ministry has told the district that the new funding must cover salary increases for teachers and support staff expected to total about $210,000, Tarr said.
Additionally, the school district is expected to pay nearly $60,000 more for the Next Generation Network project, a high-speed internet and enhanced security service.
This year the school district share will be $99,242 compared with $41,500 last year, Tarr said.
She added that the large increase in costs for this project was not expected. The school district also expected the province to provide funding to cover the salary increases, she said.
The added expenses will eat into a $200,000 windfall the school district recently learned about, which comes from a reduction in teachers’ pension plan premiums in 2016-17.
Tarr said trustees would review a preliminary 2016-17 budget before they vote on April 6 on whether to close one of the two Osoyoos schools.
The school district estimates it will save less than $400,000 a year by closing either Osoyoos Secondary School (OSS) or Osoyoos Elementary School (OSE). If OSE closes, OSS would require a one-time retrofit to convert it to a Kindergarten to Grade 9 school.
Tarr said the board will discuss the provincial funding at its upcoming meeting and also at the provincial British Columbia School Trustees Association annual general meeting in Vancouver from April 14 to 17.
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
