Saanich school trustees delay vote on budget

Should have better idea by June on impact of top court ruling on provincial funding

Saanich school trustees have decided to delay voting on their annual budget, with one suggesting a vote could be put off until the fall if a new government is chosen May 9.

Others likely will aim for a June decision.

All school boards are required to pass a balanced budget each year by June 30, and failure to do so can lead to firing by the education minister. The Saanich board considered submitting a deficit budget last year but ultimately met the deadline with an overall budget of about $74 million.

Trustee Jason Price said at a board meeting this week that there should be a postponement of the vote on the 2016-17 budget for “as long as possible” — even into the fall — to allow all factors to be included.

He said he thinks district residents would support the move.

“I’d like to take the case to the public,” he said.

The Saanich district is facing a $953,000 deficit for 2017-18, and last year had to contend with a $984,000 shortfall.

Price said the timing could be right for a lengthy delay of the budget vote, because a new government faced with dismissing a school board due to past issues would be in an “untenable position.”

Those issues include uncertainty over funding and other concerns linked to the Supreme Court of Canada ruling in November that restored B.C. teachers’ 2002 contract language on class size and composition.

The province created the Classroom Enhancement Fund to provide school districts with the money needed to comply with the ruling, in particular hiring more teachers to allow for smaller classes.

Trustee Tim Dunford said he appreciated Price’s “civil-disobedience perspective,” but he is not prepared to flout the rules.

A delay of a few weeks “might help and it can’t hurt,” Dunford said.

Don Peterson, president of the Saanich Teachers’ Association, told trustees a delay would be worth the effort.

“Given that there’s an election on May 9, we might have the same government. We might not have the same government,” he said. “It’s all up in the air, what’s going to happen.”

Waiting until early June would give the board time to gather important information, district superintendent Keven Elder said.

“It’s pretty clear that the decision to defer or postpone the decision on the budget is intended to get them through the end of May and into June, once we have an answer from the Ministry of Education as to what funding will flow from the restored [contract] language.”

The district’s expectation is for an injection of at least $4.6 million.

“It makes complete sense to wait until we have the entire budget in front of us,” Elder said. He said dealing with budgets is an “always-difficult process,” and the board is faced with choosing the least objectionable of many possible cuts.

The Greater Victoria school board passed a $229-million overall budget in April, including a $1.4-million surplus, while the Sooke board is expected to have a budget vote in late May or early June.