Schools budget shrinks with costs

Lower-than-projected student enrolment and less-expensive teachers have resulted in the Central Okanagan school district decreasing its current budget by $2.96 million.

A revised budget of $250,947,090 for the 2017-18 school year went to the board Wednesday night.

“It’s gone down about $3 million from what was projected last spring,” said secretary-treasurer Eileen Sadlowski.

The main factor in the district budget is the operating grant from the Ministry of Education, and one of the key drivers in the calculation of the grant is student enrolment, said Sadlowski.

“You build your budget based on the projected number, but then your actual budget is adjusted based on the actual number that shows up in September.”

Enrolment in Central Okanagan schools for the current year was up from last year at 22,000, but it was 172 students fewer than projected.

This decrease caused an overall decline of $3.3 million in the operating grant.

Another factor resulting in a smaller budget for the district was a decrease in the cost of teachers from the projected expense.

Last year, the district hired 210 teachers, as mandated by the Supreme Court of Canada ruling that returned classroom sizes and composition to 2002 levels.

Many of the teachers hired were newer, costing the district less than if it were to hire teachers with more seniority.

The cost of teachers was $645,000 less than projected, according to the revised budget.

In the current school year, the district did not experience a deficit and therefore did not have to make any additional cuts.

Sadlowski said she is planning for another status-quo budget in the coming year.