Early numbers indicate continued enrolment growth in Vernon school district

Photo: Jon Manchester

The Vernon school district continues to grow.

Last year, School District 22 enrolment increased by 185 students, or 2%, to 8,672 students, says secretary-treasurer Adrian Johnson.

The school district employed about 542 full-time-equivalent teachers, an increase of 2% from 2020-21, in line with the increase in the number of students.

Final numbers for the new school year are not yet in, but "early indications are that this growth trend will be sustained in the 2022-23 school year,” says Johnson.

A report to the board of education showed that over the past five years enrolment has increased by 3.4%, while the number of teachers has increased by 10.6%.

Financial statements for last school year show revenue grew by 4% to $114.9 million, compared to $110.6 million in 2020-21.

Additional revenue was used to offset inflationary increases and employ additional staff to support the growing student population, says Johnson.

"School District 22 continues to experience much higher than usual sick leave. The cost of replacing absent staff exceeded budget by about $700,000 last year," he notes.

The district ended the 2021-22 school year with a contingency reserve of $1.2 million. The school board also set aside $1.4 million in operating reserves to balance the 2022-23 budget.