$1.1M windfall for area schools
School board welcomes extra funding for classroom resources and supplies
Central Okanagan public schools will soon be divvying up an extra $1.1 million in unexpected government funding for classroom resources.
At $50 per student, the grants will range from almost $100,000 for Kelowna Secondary, the district’s largest school, down to $6,500 for its smallest, Oyama Traditional.
The money comes with few strings and can be used to help buy computer programs, textbooks, lab equipment, arts supplies and sports gear.
“Obviously, new money like this is always good and welcome,” Central Okanagan Public Schools board chairwoman Moyra Baxter said Sunday.
“We can put it into just about any type of classroom resources and supplies,” Baxter said. “But this doesn’t address our ongoing financial pressures.”
Annual provincial funding to school districts relates to student enrolment but doesn’t fully cover cost pressures associated with inflation, Baxter said.
And, in recent years, the local school district has reduced funds for school classroom resources to meet the provincial mandate of a balanced year-end budget, Baxter said.
The Central Okanagan public school system has an annual operating budget of $198 million, most of which goes to teacher salaries.
School board chairs found out about the extra money, totalling $29.4 million from a new Student Learning Grant, during a conference call on Friday. The provincial government sent out a press release on Sunday trumpeting the additional cash.
“Thanks to our strong economy and fiscal management, we are finishing the year in a really good position,” Education Minister Mike Bernier said in the release. “I can think of no better way to take advantage of the available year-end funding than by investing in our students and classrooms.
“The $29.4 million will flow in the coming weeks, and I expect all school districts to begin talking to parents and teachers. They should have two goals in mind — how to ease back-toschool supply costs for parents and how to bring B.C.’s new curriculum to life in the classroom,” he said.
The government’s total budget for B.C. public schools this year is $5.1 billion, the highest ever, even though overall enrolment is declining.
Other education-friendly initiatives announced this school year include a $250 back-to-school tax credit to help parents buying supplies for their children, $15 million in new funding for school busing and $6 million to train teachers in computer coding.
It’s been rare for the provincial government to announce additional funds for districts in the middle of the school year, Baxter said.
Asked if she thought the new funds were part of the BC Liberals’ election strategy, with voters going to the polls in three months, Baxter said: “I don’t know. You’d have to ask the government that.”