The SCDSB staff presented an overview of the 2010-11 budget on May 19, 2010 to trustees. The operating budget at $503 million reflects funding as detailed in the March 26, 2010 Ministry of Education (MOE) Memo 2010-11 Grants for Students Needs (GSN).
The total value of the operating budget is a combination of a wide variety of grants. A large proportion is based on a per-pupil funding calculation, with each full-time student generating a base grant of $10,730.00 Additional grants are built on top of this base. Staff then takes this total MOE funding amount and allocates it to budget lines with special education funding kept separate. This partitioning method of budgeting is often referred to as “sweatering” of funds. Special Education funds are “sweatered” and may only be used for special education budget items. This differs from most other areas of operating budget where funding may be generated by a named grant , but do not have to be allocated to budget items within that named grant umbrella; as such they are “unsweatered” funds.
The capital budget is managed separately through a different group of grants. It was not presented at the meeting. In general a lump-sum is approved for capital projects in the spring and a detailed budget comes forth in the fall.
The number of students within the SCDSB is projected to decline next year from this year’s levels by 1 % in the elementary schools (Early Learning Kindergarten included) to 31,487 and 2.77% in the secondary schools to 18,186, a total of 49,673 students. This is the fifth year in a row that student numbers have declined from a peak of 57,000 students. Next years projected decline of 842 students impacts the operating budget via the per pupil grant as well as grants tied to schools that are not at full capacity.
Within the funding is the inclusion of the 3% salary increases to unionized employees, funds towards the new Early Learning Program (ELP)/ Full-Day Kindergarten (ELK), cuts to text books (-15%), Computers (-25%) and transportation (-1%) and structural changes and increases to special education funding.
Choices made by staff include the removal of the Reading Recovery program and reductions in school basic budgets, while maintaining unfunded teacher librarians within most schools. Providing designated classroom space to core French teachers/classes was not included as the price of 800K was deemed too high.
Added within the budget are 34 Early Childhood Educators to support the new ELP/ELK (Full-day Kindergarten program) that will begin in fall 2010. Noted by the Deputy Director Carol McAuley as a concern was the possible deficit financing of this program to the tune of 900K.
I requested a detailed report from staff on the additions and deletions of items within budget lines. Director Kathi Wallace stated this would be forthcoming. I am particularly concerned that some budget lines and employee counts appear constant year-over-year, however that there may be changes embedded within the lines that cancel each other out. These need to be shared with the public and trustees.
Within the budget there is a considerable impact on the average school. The basic budget is being cut, and the administration staff allocations (school secretaries are included here) are being tightened up. The Ministry of Education and Minister Leona Dombrowsky feel textbooks are old fashioned and we have enough computers. I beg to differ with her and I am deeply concerned about her school basic budget cuts – i.e. textbooks, computers, school secretarial staff and the impact on all students within the school board.
Background Material:
Public school board grappling with reduced operations and learning-materials grants
SIMCOE COUNTY – The Simcoe County District School Board is shifting to buying digital book licences instead of textbooks in its quest to stay on track financially.
Facing declining enrolment for the past five years, the board is also taking stock of its texts and creating a strategy to shift books from schools where they’re not being used to where they would be.
“The Grade 7 texts are all digital,” said associate director Carol McAulay. “In the future, we won’t be buying textbooks. We’ll be buying annual licences for our students to access resources.”
In the proposed $403.5-million operating budget, McAulay noted, provincial grants for texts and learning materials are down 15 per cent. Grants for school operations are also down.
As a result, board staff is suggesting reducing school basic budgets to $107 per pupil in elementary, down almost $11 from this year; for secondary schools, the proposed per-pupil amount is $172.39, down nearly $14.
