Vancouver Board of Education releases proposals to address $7.12-million funding shortfall
Board & Committees
Vancouver Board of Education releases proposals to address $7.12-million funding shortfall
Vancouver, B.C. – (March 30, 2009) – Vancouver Board of Education trustees today released the 2009/2010 Preliminary Operating Budget plan that proposes steps the school district might take in order to comply with the School Act and submit a balanced budget.
The Vancouver school district is predicting a net funding shortfall of $7.12 million for the 2009/2010 school year. The net shortfall includes a projected surplus of $3.87 million that will be applied from the current year.
In order to address the 2009/10 budget shortfall, the school district’s management team proposed a number of reductions and transfers, including:
• 1.1 per cent reduction in teaching staff;
• 2 per cent reduction in supplies and services;
• 3.2 per cent reduction in administration costs, which will be moved to instruction;
• A transfer of funds from the local capital reserve;
• And reductions in other areas.
“Trustees are deeply concerned about any reduction in the capacity of schools and the district’s ability to meet the needs of its students,” said Patti Bacchus, Chairperson of Vancouver’s Board of Education.
“The cumulative effect of reductions over the course of the last 10 years has made it increasingly difficult to meet the learning needs of all students.”
Vancouver’s funding shortfall is caused by a number of factors, including declining enrolment and a provincial funding formula that does not fund annual cost increases faced by school districts, including: salary increments; increasing employee benefit costs; and inflation.
Vancouver school district predicts regular student enrolment will decline by the equivalent of 500 full-time students, in addition to a 200 FTE decrease in students requiring English-as-a-second-language support, and a 177 FTE decline in international students.
The 2009/2010 Preliminary Budget Proposal was released Monday to allow trustees to receive input from stakeholders prior to approving a budget during a Special Board meeting on April 30.
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For more information, contact:
Patti Bacchus, board chairperson 604-250-1130
David Weir, VSB communications manager 604-713-5074
