Preliminary 2013-14 operating grants for B.C.’s 60 boards of education, were released on Thursday:

For 2013-14: http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/k12funding/funding/13-14/operating-grant-tables.pdf

School District 57 is listed as receiving an operating grant of $118,110,509, which a decrease from last year’s operating grant of $119,861,500.

For 2012-13: http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/k12funding/funding/12-13/operating-grant-tables.pdf

In 2012-13, the school age funded FTE was for 12,918.7 students, while the number estimated for 2013-14 is 12,680.0 school age funded FTE – a decrease of 238.7 students, and $1.7 million dollars.

The province has also apparently has told boards to find the funds for increased employee remuneration within existing budgets. Additionally, there seem to be changes in how hold-back funds are dealt with, with reductions seen on the horizon.

Our district

There are two DPAC representatives on an expanded committee of the whole for the school district, who will be reviewing what these revenue challenges will mean to our school district. We are seeking parent input on what parents see as budget issues and challenges for the district.