On May 20, 2022, the ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ¿ª½±Ö±²¥ Board of Education delivered a funding advocacy letter to the Honourable Teresa Wat.
Dear MLA Wat,
On behalf of the ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ¿ª½±Ö±²¥ Board of Education, I am writing to request a meeting with you to discuss items of potential mutual interest, including our concerns over education funding.
The Board of Education appreciates the provincial support for K-12 education. However, the Ministry operating grants are neither adequate nor sustainable to support school districts in maintaining appropriate service levels in the classrooms and meet our students’ needs.
For the upcoming 2022/2023 school year, ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ¿ª½±Ö±²¥ School District is facing a $3.9 million structural budget shortfall and has been forced to consider significant reductions to staffing across the District. This is following a $7.2 million budget shortfall in 2021/2022, which was addressed by operating budget reductions, including staffing reductions, and use of reserves.
The budget shortfalls are caused by a combination of chronic underfunding and the lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Similar to other school districts in the province, ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ¿ª½±Ö±²¥ is also facing a number of unfunded cost pressures, including staff salary increments, employee benefit increases, costs of the new employment standard changes, and inflationary costs.
It would be our hope that as a member of the Official Opposition Party, you will advocate on behalf of the students and families of the ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ¿ª½±Ö±²¥ School District. We look forward to your response and would welcome an opportunity to speak with you further.
Sincerely,
Sandra Nixon, Chairperson
On Behalf of the Board of Education (ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ¿ª½±Ö±²¥)