Trustees are very concerned about the announcements made at the provincial budget.

We were hopeful that we would receive some increase in funding to pay for the increases in higher medical service plan premiums for staff, higher utility bills and to offset the two percent inflation. In the last ten years districts have received no extra money to offset these increases. Instead, we were told that school boards in the province must find a total of $29 million in administrative cuts in next school year’s budget and an additional $25 million the following year.

This results in a reduction in funding of $141,689 for 2015/2016 and a further reduction of almost the same amount for 2016/2017. Although the government announced an increase in funding of $106 million for education, this funding is primarily directed toward funding additional costs of the recent teacher and support staff collective agreements as well as Learning Improvement Fund improvements. It is also important to remember that $94 million of this amount relates to the 2014/2015 school year for the teacher agreement and this money is already in our budgets.

We are also anticipating that the government may lift the freeze on excluded staff compensation and that districts will have to find the money to fund these increases as well. Excluded staff includes all of our principals, vice-principals, exempt board office, and senior district staff. Due to the new collective agreement with teachers, many senior teachers now earn almost the same salary as some administrators and therefore there is no incentive for teachers to take on these positions, which come with increasing responsibility. Without increased funding we fear we will be put in a position of having to choose between covering the operational necessities versus delivering a quality education. It is very challenging, without appropriate funding, to create innovative programs and provide the technological and skilled training and personalized learning opportunities that keep students engaged and best prepared for a world beyond the classroom. Our district also faces declining enrollment and changes in funding to adult education programs. We have not overlooked any obvious savings and share two of our senior staff positions with another district, but we see no more easy savings to be had without impacting learning in the classroom. As a district we will have some difficult decisions to make and we ask for your support as we move forward as we continue to provide the best educational opportunities possible for our children. We can only provide the best education for our children with the help of our teachers, staff and our communities.

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We wish all of our partner groups and community members a wonderful and safe spring break!

Should you have any questions, please contact me at 250-498-1333.

Submitted by Marieze Tarr, Chairperson

School District No. 53 (Okanagan Similkameen)