Skip to content

UPDATED: More timely education funding needed, says SD43

School District 43 will have more money to spend on vulnerable children and address class size and composition issues next school year.

School District 43 will have more money to spend on vulnerable children and address class size and composition issues next school year.

That's the most definitive statement that can be made in the wake of successive Ministry of Education announcements on school education funding.

But the numbers are still in flux, according to SD43 secretary treasurer Rick Humphreys, and trustees are growing agitated with the increased complexity and delays to funding announcements.

"I can't believe we're wasting this much time and effort when we should have received this information on March 15," Coquitlam Trustee Gerri Wallis said at Tuesday's board of education meeting after hearing the board would face yet another delay in discussing the budget.

For now, a small deficit is anticipated for regular operating expenses next year with more details about spending yet to come.

Tonight, Thursday, April 12, the district's leadership team is expected to present its recommendations for the 2012/'13 budget, including how to deal with a modest deficit of about $300,000.

DELAYS

Education ministry officials will likely cringe at the notion that the district is predicting a deficit next year after ending this year with a nearly $1 million surplus from funds held back for enrolment verification plus strike savings of $415,121.

But after weeks of number crunching and two delays to budget discussions, the district is predicting it may still have some fine-tuning to do to balance the budget, despite hiking rental and lease fees by 5% and better managing investments and a small increase in enrolment.

One of the biggest problems, according to Humphreys, is the lack of clarity around how to use the new Learning Improvement Fund, which has doubled to about $3 million thanks to strike savings. Until more is known, that money will be put into a special purpose fund.

Other funds that will be placed into the special purpose fund because they aren't part of the regular operating grants include $1 million targeted to vulnerable students and $2.4 million in Community Link funding.

These cash infusions mean the district will have some extra money to help struggling students and support teachers with large, complex classes but because they aren't part of the regular operating budget, and can't be counted on year to year, a structural deficit is still possible - and chronic underfunding is still a problem.

"We need sustainable funding," board chair Melissa Hyndes told The Tri-City News, saying the district continues to languish at the bottom for per-pupil funding although student achievement is among the highest in the province.

CONFUSION

She said trustees are unhappy with the way budgeting information has been given out in dribs and drabs well after the usual March 15 announcement date set so that districts can plan their spending and meet contractual obligations, and trustees will plan a strategy to lobby the Ministry of Education for changes.

Meanwhile, the president of the Coquitlam Teachers' Association is staying positive about school funding even though the district is not getting all the money back it saved in the teachers' three-day strike.

"At least the money's getting back to the vulnerable kids in the classroom," the CTA's Teresa Grandinetti said.

According to SD43 figures, the district saved $2,915,928 during the strike but must return $1,780,807 to the province, leaving $415,121 for the 2011/'12 fiscal period.

But it's only going to receive $1.55 million in strike savings targeted to the Learning Improvement Fund while the remainder, or $227,807 will be kept by the ministry.

If that's not confusing enough, Humphreys said more funding announcements are still to come, including more details about ways schools might spend carbon offset money they currently pay to be carbon neutral.

dstrandberg@tricitynews.com