Enrolment numbers are down in the Qualicum School District, according to preliminary data. The decline means funding from the provincial government for the district will be reduced.
"We saw some indicators that caused us to be quite cautious and we projected we’d be down a per cent," superintendent of schools Peter Jory said during a Sept. 24 school board meeting. "And now it looks like we’ll be down, well, a per cent and a half and maybe even two per cent."
Enrolment has been "soft" around the province this fall, noted Jory, who also pointed to a new private special needs program that recently became accredited.
"A number of parents and caregivers of students who qualify for supplementary funding have elected to give this program a try," he said.
The lower numbers translate to approximately $1.2 million less in funding and has resulted in "staffing adjustments," Jory added.
"We have tried to limit the majority of these reductions to the rescinding of new postings to keep disruptions to a minimum," he said.
Jory listed cuts that include $420,000 from teaching staff reallocations, reductions and non-replacements and $300,000 through reductions to educational assistants (EA) hours.
The vice president of Mount Arrowsmith Teachers' Association, Katie Tickell, said that many of the initiatives highlighted in the Framework for Enhancing Student Learning report may end up being cut in order to balance the budget.
"It’s unfortunate that the district has found itself in a budget deficit at the start of the school year," Tickell said. “Budget deficits mean cuts within the system, most often the items that get cut are the resources that directly support students, teachers, counsellors, learning service supports and special programs, as well as EAs, clerical support and school budgets. We know that cuts to these items have significant effects on children’s learning."
President of CUPE Local 3570, Ewen Rycroft, said the union is “deeply concerned” over matters such as the “precarity of our members’ positions, the safety and inclusion of our students and the management’s decision to recoup their deficit from support staff pay cheques and student support.”
The Qualicum School District puts a "very high" percentage of its budget into teacher staffing compared to districts of a similar size, Jory said.
"Central positions are fewer than typical here. Professional development budgets are comparatively frugal. Operations funding has been tight and our surplus is quite frankly, about half what it really should be," he continued. “This means when we have a dip in funding, there really isn’t anywhere else to go."
The district is looking at how it can "right size" the budget now, instead of looking at it later, according to Gillian Wilson, associate superintendent of schools.
The final fall enrolment numbers will be available by the school board trustees' next meeting in October, she added.
Funding will be adjusted again after an enrolment count in February.
