School District 43 ended the last school year with a whopping $6.5-million surplus — much bigger than anticipated.
But board chair Judy Shirra says that doesn't mean the district is overfunded.
In fact, the Port Coquitlam trustees said without increasing enrolment among foreign students — which brought in $28 million in the 2015/’16 school year — the district would still be strapped for cash.
"If you look at what we get from the ministry, we do really well with what we get but we are also a revenue-generating district and that has saved us time and time again," Shirra said.
As well, she said the leftover cash is just 2.24% of the $293-million budget, which falls within an expected norm.
Why the district is banking cash now when just a few years ago it was in deficit can be explained partly by increased vigilance over spending, Shirra said, and the fact that young teachers have been moving into replace those who are retiring, costing less in salaries and benefits.
There was also a shortage of educational assistants last year, which fed into a better financial bottom line.
Now comes the job of deciding how the money will be spent and Tuesday evening, the board decided to wait until November, when it has more information about the new school year and a chance to do some consultation to make a determination.
But $1 million has already been used to improve facilities and create additional space, leaving $5.5 million to be spread out over four years, providing an $850,000 boost to the current school year's operating budget.
