
The belt-tightening might not be done for the Kamloops-Thompson school district, which is slashing another $665,000 while still dealing with the fallout of an accounting error that put them in a $2-million hole last year.
As a result of a piece of revenue being counted twice in the district’s financial forecast, SD73 spent funds it didn’t have — resulting in the $2 million shortfall.
SD73 approved a budget reduction plan in late August and further reductions were approved in early October. The district further reduced supplies and services by $1.5 million to offset an increase in teacher salaries by $2.2 million later that month.
After the additions to the reduction plan in October, SD73 was projecting a $562,370 surplus in its operating fund budget by June of next year.
More reduction strategies
Faced with a projected $2 million in relief and benefits cost overruns and not having met its target for reductions in supplies and services, the SD73 board of education approved around $665,000 in further spending reductions in December.
The cuts included $106,000 by continuing to not replace some vacant positions as they come up and $10,000 by not doing extra cleaning of schools during the winter break and relief costs will be reduced by $549,780 by asking non-enrolling teachers to work in schools while teachers are away between February and June.
The district has also collected $28,000 through additional rentals of its facilities.
Additional strategies to be enacted include approving teachers on call through each school’s budget prior to the cost being incurred to ensure funds are available and hiring “not yet certified education assistants” to its relief roster.
SD73 also expects the province to confirm by the end of the month over $1.4 million through classroom enhancement funding, which the district will rely on to cover overruns in benefits.
The board approved the amendments to its budget reduction plan Monday night and is once again projecting a $562,370 surplus in its operating fund budget by June of next year.
“We need to continue to build those reserves to make sure they're available to us as a strategy for risk mitigation in the future,” acting secretary-treasurer Robbie Tallon told the board.
Minimal effect on students
Abbotsford School District secretary-treasurer and CFO Ray Velestuk provided an external analysis of SD73’s financials in October, prompting the budget changes to supplies and services.
On Monday night, Velestuk said SD73 should continue to monitor its budget to remain “nimble in the next number of months” and to take advantage of further reductions if the opportunity arises. He said rebuilding reserves would help the district withstand any future budget issues.
Relief costs have doubled in SD73 over the last five years and surpassed the district’s budget by $2.3 million last year. Velestuk said rising relief costs have been seen across the province since the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said salaries and benefits make up nearly 90 per cent of SD73’s budget, and to avoid future cost overruns he recommended the board create a process to better predict future budgets.
“Just building in some process internally within your district that allows you to have multiple ways to validate some of the information that you have, so you’re confident with the financial picture you have,” Velestuk said.
SD73 superintendent Rhonda Nixon said the district is going through its budgets “at a level of detail we have never gone through before."
“The innovation that’s come out, the support that’s come out will serve us well next year,” she said.
Nixon said students remain a top priority when reductions are proposed and the district aims to minimally effect students.
“Every single decision we’re making is to ask he question, how do we ensure that students are taken care of and that they’re learning,” she said.
SD73’s financial situation
According to a report brought before the board Monday evening, as of Nov. 30 the district had spent 0.8 per cent, or $3.8 million, more of its budget for salaries and benefits this year compared to the same time last year.
SD73 had spent 3.67 per cent more of its budget for benefits compared to last year. The report states if this trend continues, the budget could be exceeded by nearly $700,000.
Budgeting for educational assistants was up by around $124,000, and support staff spending was up by around $360,000. Replacement costs for teachers on call, custodians and certified education assistants were up by around $250,000 over the same time last year as well.
Spending of the supplies and services budget was down by 3.6 per cent, around $680,000. Although more had been spent in budgets for facilities and maintenance, student transportation and the international student program.
“We’ll continue to meet with the directors of those departments and the district principal of international to review the budgets and ensure that those allocations are not exceeded,” Tallon said.
“In order to meet our budget reduction plan, we're closely monitoring our salaries for education assistance and our support staff, our replacement costs for all our employee groups, as well as the supplies and services with both the individual departments and on a school basis.”