Parents are being encouraged to get more involved in planning for School District 43’s operating budget for 2019/’20 and will be sent a link to detailed budget documents.
That’s the plan as SD43 tries to increase the amount of feedback it receives to help trustees decide how about $316 million in revenue should be spent for schools.
“We are increasing the amount of time for feedback,” board chair Barb Hobson, a Coquitlam trustee, explained at Tuesday’s board of education meeting.
It’s unknown whether “pushing” a link to parent email accounts through their school will get them more involved. Typically, it’s teachers, principals and CUPE support workers who are most engaged in the process while the District Parent Advisory Council represents parents at stakeholder meetings.
However, parents who have children with special needs in the system have been speaking out in recent years about concerns about programs for autism and the need for special education assistants with applied behavior analysis training.
Also in recent years, SD43’s finances have been relatively stable, including this year, where a $5 million surplus is expected, derived mostly from international education revenues.
The preliminary budget will presented on April 9, followed by delegation presentations on April 16, with a final presentation and board approval of the budget on April 23.
The link parents will receive will send them to a web page with a number of documents including financial statements and information about how the provincial government funds education.
People can also comment via an email at [email protected]
