An abrupt end to the school year in June because of teachers' job action and a series of rotating strikes in the weeks previous enabled the district to save money and put a small down payment on its debt.
"It was a razor thin budget," admitted Mark Ferrari, School District 43 secretary treasurer commenting on a $400,000 savings on a roughly $267 million budget that enabled the district to knock its deficit down to $10.2 million from $10. 6 million.
Most of the strike savings, an operational surplus which amounted to $6.1 million by the end of June, went back to the province which claimed 80% of the savings, with the remainder going to deferred costs such as Employment Insurance and Canada Pension Plan.
Still, the year end report approved by the new board of education Tuesday shows that the strike saved a lot of money in the 2012/2013 school year. Operational costs expected to total $274.5 million ended up being $267.1 million, with the bulk of the savings in instruction, which was down $12 million from the $225 million that was originally projected.
At left, Judy Shirra, SD43 board chair.
Board chair Judy Shirra admitted the savings were made on "the back of teachers and students," but said being able to put some money down toward the deficit is good news for the district and shows the district is on a better footing than the year previous when the deficit was created.
She said trend lines show the district is back to 2012 levels for staffing, with the 2013 spike having been eliminated, which is good for budgets but not necessarily good for schools.
"We're back at the bottom again," in terms of per student funding in the province, Shirra said, and she expects the board to continue to lobby for an improved funding formula that doesn't short-change the district.
She said as many as 20 districts in B.C. are getting "protection funding," which is not sustainable in the long term and hurts other districts, such as SD43, which get less money per student.
The district has also been given a seat at the table in ongoing discussions about the funding formula that former board chair Melissa Hyndes had to vacate when she wasn't re-elected. Shirra acknowledged her former colleague played a role in getting the province to recognize that the current funding formula is inadequate and needs to be changed.
