Enrolment growth boosts public board budget
The Greater Essex County District School Board is on track for a balanced budget for 2017-18 and possible elimination of all capital debt thanks to enrolment growth of nearly 600 more students than forecast.
Superintendent of business Cathy Lynd presented that optimistic update to trustees this week.
“We’re even hopeful in the second half of the school year that we might end up with a surplus,” Lynd said.
“We’ll apply that to the capital debt. We’ve managed to lower that quite a bit last year.”
This 2017-18 fiscal year, which ends Aug. 31, calls for a $443-million budget.
Growing enrolment is the main driver of the board’s improving financial picture.
The additional 581 students, all coming at the elementary level, triggered grants worth $4.551-million more than forecast.
Much of that increase came in JK/SK where an additional 314 pupils enrolled. Grades 1 to 3 saw 78 more students show up than forecast while there were 189 additional pupils in Grades 4 to 8.
The public board has 24,500 elementary school students and a total of 35,841 pupils overall.
Some of the new students also need support learning English, triggering an additional $1.611-million in provincial funding for English as a Second Language programs.
The board also saw an increase of 43 students in its international education program. That represented an boost of $517,000 in tuition fees.
GECDSB receives no government grants for international students, who pay about $11,000 in tuition.
“I think we are in a growth phase,” said director of education Erin Kelly.
“It’s been a mix of newcomers to the area and people coming back home who had left. Many of them are in JK and SK, so they ’ll be with us for a long time.”
Kelly said the board hired the equivalent of nearly 38 full-time elementary school teachers, 13 early childhood educators and 13 special education workers.
The financial picture could improve even more in the near future with the possible sale of two school properties.
The board already has an offer on J.E. Benson Elementary School near the University of Windsor for use as a private school conditional on a zoning change. That change should come sometime between April and the end of June.
The board has also put Tecumseh’s Victoria Elementary School on the market. The school is located in a prime residential area and sealed bids for the 4.4-acre property will be welcomed until 2 p.m. April 16.
Public viewings of the Victoria property are set for Feb. 15 and March 21.
Any funds received for the properties will be applied to the capital debt.
“Paying off capital debt is a priority for us before we start building any new schools,” said Kelly, who will oversee six new schools being built in the next three years.
The capital debt currently sits at $4.5-million after the board paid off just over $9-million last year.
Eliminating the debt will free up money to develop new programming and address other needs in the board.
“Special education is always a priority,” Kelly said. “That remains a challenge finding all the funding required.
“Our infrastructure, even though we have a lot of new-builds, still presents us challenges with renewal needs.”
Kelly added the rising costs of covering occasional teachers remains a concern as well. Last year the board paid $7.9-million for occasional teachers to cover absences.
“Through the first three months, until the end of November, we’re comparable to last year,” Lynd said. “Well see what the next update looks like (with this year’s flu bug).”