School board trustees had to make some difficult cuts in order to pass a balanced budget and make up for a nearly $500,000 shortfall.
Trustees voted on the budget cuts during a special budget meeting on April 29, with the hope that more funding will become available in the fall.
One major concern for the board was reduced hours for educational assistants (EA) and child and youth care workers, to the tune of $107,000. At the April 23 meeting, trustees discussed and ultimately voted against the budget, so the special meeting was scheduled.
Trustee Barry Kurland said contact with an EA was very important to the students he taught at Kwalikum Secondary School.
“The thing that was constant for these children was their EA that they could have and relate to,” he said.
Trustee Julie Austin said before approving the budget, she would like recognition from board and senior staff that, should more funding become available in the fall, EA hours will be “one of the first places we look.”
EA is one position that has grown relative to other positions in the school district over time, according to Peter Jory, superintendent of schools.
READ MORE: Qualicum School District looks at $500K budget shortfall amid rising costs
“I always get uncomfortable with the narrative that this a place we’re cutting or intentionally going at,” Jory said, and added the school district is drawing down all over the place. “If what the Board of Education is saying is that in order to approve what we’ve put on the table today that we’re doing so under the condition that in September, if there’s more money on the table, that this is the first place we put back, then I am satisfied to do that.”
The school district is reallocating its resources to support the needs of students in the system currently, according to Gillian Wilson, associate superintendent of schools.
“Every year we look to see what we know at this time of the year to be able to support our system, and so what you see is a difference in the educational assistant hours,” Wilson said. “It’s not a cut, it’s a difference in the terms of how we’re supporting students.”
The decisions come as a result of rising costs and also will affect the international student program ($50,000), school administration assistants ($35,000) and the elimination of the summer works crew ($150,000), according to secretary-treasurer Ron Amos.
“Number one for me would be to — I want to support the kids in the classroom, that’s what I hear the board saying,” said Trustee Elaine Young.
The board voted unanimously to approve the Qualicum School District’s budget of $72.5 million.
A balanced budget must be submitted to the education ministry by the end of June.
Once submitted, the school district will wait and see what the fall enrolment numbers are, which will generate grant recalculations.
The total increase in the school district’s committed costs is about $1.6 million, with a funding shortfall of approximately $236,000, plus additional requests including $262,000 for needs response team (NRT) funding and teacher staffing, according to Amos.
