Saskatoon school division 'can't even do a status quo budget' with current provincial funding
In the weeks leading up to Wednesday’s provincial budget, school divisions in Saskatchewan were expecting funding levels to increase, with the province repeatedly touting its $1 billion surplus.
Instead, divisions are left drawing up another lean budget, which could affect what schools in Saskatchewan are able to do.
"When you have a billion dollar surplus, when is a good time to reinvest in education," Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools board chair Diane Boyko said.
The separate school division is one of the 27 divisions in the province, which will receive $2.04 billion overall in operational funding for the 2023-2024 school year, up $49.4 million from the $1.99 billion investment in last year’s budget.
Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools chief financial officer Joel Lloyd says much of that money has already been allocated in this current fiscal year. He says $15 million was divvied out last December with a number of schools exceeding enrollment projections, on top of $20 million received last summer to address inflationary pressures.
That leaves less than $15 million for every school division in the province.
"In the last number of years we've attempted to have just a status quo budget and add resources for growth," he said. "But the last two years we've seen an erosion of that where we can't even do a status quo budget anymore."
Other school divisions in the province aren't expected to fair much better.
"Boards have been calling for investment in education for a very long time. We're looking forward to the kind of budget that provides sustainable, predictable and sufficient funding for education in this province," Saskatchewan School Boards Association president Jaimie Smith-Windsor said at the legislature Wednesday.
"This budget contributes to the erosion of the publicly funded system that we have."
On Wednesday, the education minister said the budget for the 2023-2024 school year largely addresses inflationary pressures and the enrollment increase seen over the last year, however more money can be allocated depending on a school board's needs. According to the province, there are over 189,000 registered students in Saskatchewan’s K-12 school system.
"School divisions now have over $2 billion in operating for the first time ever," he said. "We're looking forward to seeing what they do with their budgets now."
Boyko and Lloyd say not much will be done with the money they're receiving. Lloyd said the money the division will receive is projected to be $3.9 million more than last year, and most of that money will go towards hiring new teachers.
"We're welcoming 1,600 more students than we had last school year and the majority of those students are new to Canada," Lloyd said.
Boyko said 1,600 students would normally fill five to six new schools that aren't being built this year.
"We're probably going to be close to that $1.4 to $1.5 million shortfall, and so that is a huge concern for us," she said.
"You're trying to offer the same kind of programs that you have [in the past] -- it's an impossible task almost."
In an ideal scenario, Boyko and Lloyd would have preferred twice the amount of money presented in Wednesday's budget. Boyko wouldn't say if any additional fees will be passed on to parents, but the board will have plenty to think about when it begins finalizing its budget later this year.
"Everything is going to be on the table at this point," Boyko said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.