The Upper Grand District School Board has passed a balanced and compliant operating budget of over $349,624,216.
The capital estimate comes in at over $45-million.
The board expects enrolment to decline by about 500 students, and that means less revenue as many grants are based on the number of students.
Fewer students also means 16 secondary school teaching positions will be eliminated through retirement or attrition.
Three Mental Health Professionals bring a new skill set to respond to students needs, with that being offset by a reduction of four hall monitors
A traffic officer will be hired on a temporary basis to work with stakeholders on developing traffic management plans for schools
“The province did not announce any new investments in education on April 23," says Budget Chair and Vice-Chair of the board Marty Fairbairn. "We were prepared for a loss of revenue, and had to budget accordingly. But in the end we came out slightly higher than last year.”
“Every member of the senior team has a system perspective instead of arguing for their own portfolios. In my view, this is a good news budget for our schools and our students," says Director of Education Martha Rogers. “Thanks go to all the senior staff for holding the line where required, reducing where appropriate and for their vision of where to increase supports for students and how to increase operational efficiency.”