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SD 57

School district manages to balance 2021/22 budget without significant cuts

Jun 22, 2021 | 4:40 PM

PRINCE GEORGE- A balanced budget was not within view back in May, when the Management and Finance Committee was notified of a shortfall of just under $3.2 million.

With the review of salaries and more accurate numbers, savings were found of $750,000.

Eventually, the budget was reduced down to a shortfall of under $500 thousand, a dollar amount that will be covered by surplus.

The part that made this budget draft difficult to predict was the number of students who utilized the distance learning or homeschool model.

Tim Bennett, Chair of the Management and Finance Committee for School District 57 says the amended budget will be done in January once numbers are confirmed.

“The nice part is, all of the efficiencies we found, there are no staff cuts and no direct impacts to classrooms,” said Bennett. “That was a message we heard loud and clear.”

The higher numbers of students part of that affect the funding the district receives, making it merely a guess for the fall of how many will be back.