The news that School District 43 will be able to put $1.3 million in administrative savings back into classrooms could mean more money for mental health programs and other initiatives, says board chair Judy Shirra.
The province made the announcement Tuesday, giving $25 million in savings by school districts back to school districts. Burnaby is to receive just over $1 million while Vancouver School Board will get $2.25 million.
The Port Coquitlam trustee said SD43 trustees had been lobbying along with other B.C. trustees to keep the funds that were to be set aside for administrative savings and on Tuesday, she said, the effort paid off.
"We have been lobbying for the government to hold off taking our administrative cuts because we've been working on a pilot project for a mental health initiative," Shirra said.
Trustees will still have to decide what to do with the money but would likely put it in a special fund so expenditures can be monitored, she said.
"We'd like to move it around to an actual pot so we can prove that we're using that money responsibly," Shirra said.
But one likely use of the money is a pilot program to help students with mental health issues. "We were looking at $1.5 million to implement that," Shirra said, and while trustees haven't voted on it, the program is already being looked at as a model for other districts.
Shirra said rising rates of anxiety among students, especially younger students, sometimes leading to thoughts of suicide, mean the district has to do more on mental health.
'If we don't deal with mental health, nothing's going to get done," Shirra said.
The district is also forecasting a small surplus at the end of this school year, which will be split up over three years to help schools that have difficulties accommodating students who move into the area over summer.
"It will lessen overcrowding, which creates a domino effect when people move into neighborhoods and can't get into neighborhood schools," she said.
That surplus had originally been pegged at $2 million but might be slightly less, she said, because some funds have been used for professional development so teachers are prepared to teach the new curriculum in the fall.
For this school year, SD43 has already set aside $1.5 million for administrative savings.
