School District 57’s Board has approved a balanced budget.
The decision came at last night’s (Tuesday) Board meeting, with the budget being worth just over 168 million dollars.
Balancing the budget required some creative thinking according to Board Chair Tim Bennett.
“[The Board identified] an $800,000 deficit we had to make up when we looked at projected revenues versus projected expenses. It was our goal as a Board to keep those cuts as far away from the classroom as possible,” he said.
Board members also discussed the 2021-22 Five Year Capital Plan summary – with a $75 million D.P. Todd Secondary School replacement project taking centre stage.
“Our initial capital plan submission was to support renovation and expansion,” Bennett explained.
However, following conversation with the Ministry of Education, SD57 began considering a complete rebuild.
The rebuild has yet to be officially approved.
Bennett says a return to the original plan of expanding the existing school is possible depending on the amount of funding received.
A new policy manual was also discussed, and Trustee Trent Derrick brought forward a motion to refer the new manual to the ad hoc committee on Truth and Reconciliation.
In response, the policy manual has been tabled and is pending committee review.
Bennett says the new manual looks to streamline the existing one, which is plagued by contradicting policies.
The Board Chair described the new manual as “user-friendly”.
This was the last scheduled meeting for the current school year.
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