The Lambton Kent District School Board (LKDSB) is getting a $30-million boost in funding for the upcoming school year.
Board trustees approved a budget of $291,105,354 for the 2017/2018 school year on Tuesday night. The budget for the 2016/2017 school year was $260,373,094.
Superintendent of Business Brian McKay says most of the increase is due to grants from the ministry of education.
"They are supporting, through a number of successful grant applications [and] significant capital, work at two of our school sites," says McKay. "The first being Great Lakes Secondary School in Sarnia and the second being the current Wyoming school site, so of the $30-million increase, half of the increase is due to those grant applications."
McKay says the LKDSB will also be receiving increased funding for additional staff positions, as well as increases in salaries and wages.
"The other portion of the increase is from the settlements negotiated by the provincial government and our union partners at the central bargaining table," he says. "That includes changes to a number of positions we can hire for classroom activities."
With enrollment numbers for LKDSB schools slowly decreasing over the years, McKay says staff would generally be downsized. However, with the increased funding from these settlements, more positions can be created.
The projected enrollment number for the 2017/2018 school year is 21,482 students, which is close to last year's projection of 21,492 students.
McKay says the budget will be implemented in the upcoming September school term.