SD57 budget challenge creates calls for increased provincial funding

May 18, 2022 | 6:23 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – For School District 57, student enrollment remains flatlined at around 13,000 students, and so does the funding the district receives from the provincial government annually.

Stagnant funding has created a challenge with rising costs due to inflation, for 2022/23 district was left with a $2.2 million shortfall.

By law, the books need to be balanced which led to some juggling in the $175 million budget and resulted in some cuts which according to staff have been kept outside of the classroom.

At the public special board meeting on Monday, the Board of Education was briefed on cuts to teachers, educational assistants, and others making up a total cut of $4.2 million. This was needed to balance a budget which saw increases of $1.1 million in transportation and half a million dollars in utility costs.

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The total number of cuts of $4.9 million is combined from several different areas including the operating budget, and the capital.

The challenge has led to calls from several trustees including Tim Bennett for increased funding from the province.

Bennett spoke Monday about the challenges when the same amount of dollars are forced to be stretched even further due to inflation with funding not budging.

The final meeting to pass the budget will be held on May 31 at the SD57 Administration office. The public is encouraged to provide their input by visiting the district’s website.

by Caden Fanshaw

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SD57 budget challenge creates calls for increased provincial funding

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