School District 43 may need to hire as many as 19 teachers and educational assistants in September to handle changes in enrolment because of students moving in and out of the district this spring and summer.
But without a pool in reserve, trustees were told at their meeting Tuesday, school organization could come to a standstill.
"If we don't have funds in process, it would delay the opening of school to an unusual degree," said superintendent Patricia Gartland, justifying the need for the district to place its $500,000 contingency — money put aside for emergencies — into a reserve for staff hires in September.
According to Gartland, the district needs about $1.3 million in teachers and education assistants in its pocket to deal with class size and composition needs when students return to school Sept. 7. Earlier, she was granted $800,000 from an anticipated end-of-year surplus, with the remaining $500,000 approved Tuesday along with a requirement she produce a report Sept. 15 to explain how the money was spent.
Board chair Judy Shirra also suggested money for September classroom organization should be put directly into the budget to avoid this kind of unplanned expenditure in the future.
"I want to see this in next year's budget as a line item to retain this as a contingency," said the Port Coquitlam trustee.
The need for a pool of teachers and support workers ready for deployment in September comes as the region deals with a hot housing market. Since January, for example 1,000 detached homes have changed hands in the Tri-Cities, according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV).
The brisk housing market is a boon for schools if more students move here than leave, but with more kindergarten students coming into the system and hundreds of Grade 12s graduating, the district also needs more teachers because elementary grades have smaller classes than those at high school.
In an earlier interview, Gartland speculated that more young parents may be moving to the Tri-Cities because it's more affordable than Vancouver, where the school district was recently told it should close 19 schools because of 10,000 empty classroom seats.
REAL ESTATE BY THE NUMBERS
Meanwhile, home prices and sales, especially for detached homes, are up this year, according to the REBGV.
In Coquitlam, for example, single-family home sales are up 18%, with 641 homes sold this year between January and the end of May compared to 543 for the same period last year. Port Coquitlam saw a 9.5% jump in single-family home sales, from 209 to 229, while Port Moody saw a 44% jump, from 100 to 144.
Prices are also up, with the median selling price in Coquitlam now $862,800, compared to $760,000 last year. In PoCo, the median is $635,000 compared to $569,000 last year and in Port Moody, the median price of houses sold between January and May was $957,000 compared to $889,000 over the same period last year.
Buyers are prepared to pay more than asking and realtors are reporting final offers with no subjects attached.
Meanwhile, apartment and townhouse sales are also up in the Tri-Cities. In Coquitlam, for example, 451 apartments have been sold recently compared to 310 last year, a 45% increase. Only Port Moody saw a downward trend in townhouse and apartment sales.
