by Michael Rempel, GVSD School Trustee
When most people hear about school board budgeting, they yawn and think, “Isn’t there something else to discuss?” But budgeting for the GVSD Board of Trustees is one of the important things that we do as trustees, and we want the public’s input.
In this article, I will be explaining the budgeting process, including how you can have your voice heard, how the school division is funded, normal expenditures and how the school board monitors the budget throughout the year.
Budget Planning Process
Pre-budget Consultation with the Public (November)
The School Board organizes a pre-budget consultation, open to our community members, to listen and dialogue with the public about their priorities for education, property taxation and the board’s role in the community.
Pre-budget Consultation with Municipal Leaders (December)
The board met with municipal government representatives in December. The meeting normally centers around property taxation, capital projects, and how the school board communicates with municipalities.
Provincial Funding Announcements (January/February)
The annual funding announcement provides details on the amount of funding that the school board will receive for the upcoming school year. This funding is based on a number of factors, including the number of students in the division, transportation needs and capital projects.
Budget Deliberations (February/March)
The school board takes all the information that it received from the public and municipal leaders and starts to develop the budget priorities for the coming year. These priority items form the basis for our budget.
Budget Drafting (March)
Senior Administration prepares and presents the draft budget and outlines its potential impacts on students, division staff and the public. The school board then makes any last-minute changes.
Budget Approval (March)
The draft budget is then presented at a public meeting and normally adopted by the board during the meeting.
School Board Funding
The majority of funding for school divisions comes from two primary sources.
The first source is the provincial government. Currently, this funding accounts for 66% of budget revenue. Portions of this funding are pre-determined and provided annually, such as regular instruction, and portions are based on funding for students with special learning needs.
The second source of funding comes from school taxes paid by property owners within the division. Currently this accounts for 32% of the division’s budgeted revenue. This revenue is collected by the municipalities and then paid to the division.
School Board Expenditure
School board expenditures, which are in excess of $55 million, are broken into three categories. The largest category is staff wages. This accounts for 83% of our budgeted expenses. The division has over 700 staff employed at 14 schools throughout the division.
Building maintenance and upkeep accounts for 7% of divisional expenses. This includes mainly repairs to buildings, utilities, and other outsourced services, such as electricians, plumbers, etc.
Supplies, material, and equipment accounts for 7 % of divisional expenses. This category involves the costs of tools for teaching trades, office supplies and equipment replacement/repair.
Budget Oversight
Once the budget is adopted, the school board has the responsibility to ensure that the funding is being allocated properly. To accomplish this, the board has developed an Operations Committee which is responsible for reviewing divisional expenditures on a monthly basis. The Secretary Treasurer of the school division provides many reports to the board to assist with the analysis of the division’s financial situation.
The Secretary Treasurer provides a report to the school board on a monthly basis, and the board is able to ask questions or request further information regarding budget issues if necessary.