The Howe Sound School District will spend an estimated $33,339,632 during the 2005/2006 school season.
The board unanimously agreed to waive the required first second and third reading of the budget bylaw during its regularly scheduled meeting Wednesday (June 15), opting to adopt the budget in one fell swoop.
Many allocations have decreased since last year to such things as itinerant services, special education and elementary counseling as well as to educational support. But those decreases are not set in stone. Secretary treasurer Nancy Edwards said that the district finance committee hasn't yet counted "maybe money" in the amount of $330,000 that the Ministry of Education is expected to dole out on the basis of enrolment.
An expected dip in enrolment next year of 160 students - the largest loss in district history - may lead to an increase in provincial funding. But the district isn't counting their chickens before they hatch, and trustees agree that the careful approach is good.
"It's nice to be able to look forward to what we can get," said trustee Mike Milner, "Instead of fearing layoffs and cuts."
Trustee Don Brett said it's understandable that immediate reaction to a reduction of allocations is fear of missing money, but that changes each month when schools inch closer toward their desires. Some things to look forward to are more extensive library services, ESL and special education programs, three more teachers per student at every secondary school and the implementation of summer school and educational summer camp programs.
Almost all of the district's revenue comes from the Ministry of Education, which the district then pads with other sources such as offshore tuition fees - last year totaling $1.6 million. The year's international student enrolment in the Howe Sound totaled 216 students mostly from Korea but also from Germany, South America, Hong Kong, Japan, Italy and the U.S.
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