The Sea to Sky School District is facing unexpected budget challenges as an increase in enrolment numbers and the Ministry of Education's system for counting students negated an anticipated funding protection grant meant for low enrolment.
During last spring's budget deliberations, the school district anticipated 4,068 students - a low enrolment that led the administration to anticipate substantial protection grant funding on top of its $35 million budget.
However a Sept. 30 snapshot shows a head count of 4,115 students, and funding protection would kick in if in fact only 47 more students enrolled, but the Ministry of Education's system for counting students shows an enrolment increase of 100, so the district loses the funding.
"Although we expect more money, it likely will not be enough that we don't have to make some budget adjustment," said secretary-treasurer John Hetherington to members of the board and the public at the school board meeting in Squamish Wednesday, Oct 13.
The ministry's funding is not based on head count, but on full time equivalent (FTE) students. Kindergarteners are considered half time so it takes two of them to equal one FTE, whereas Grades 10 through 12 student figures are based on the number of courses the student takes.
The ministry counts an eight course load as one student, but including extra credits, a single student can count for one and a half or more.
"We're up by 47 head count kids, but we have almost 100 FTE kids more than the budget was built around," said Hetherington.
The district must now hire between four and five more teachers at an average of $90,000 per teacher per year since the ministry mandates student-faculty ratio.
"Do I think the funding formula will produce enough money to cover those extra students?" he asked. "My suspicion is it probably won't."
Signal Hill receives modular classroom
To accommodate upcoming full-day kindergarten starting in September 2011, the Ministry of Education signed a $28 million contract with Aldergrove's Shelter Industries to produce 133 modular classrooms for installation in various schools in school districts across the province by July 31, 2011.
"This district is the lucky recipient of one of these units," said Hetherington. "It will be installed at Signal Hill Elementary School in Pemberton to accommodate full day kindergarten."
All other schools in the District 48 will have to find space within their existing area - some classrooms will be converted from regular classrooms to kindergarten classrooms and others already have kindergarten classrooms that have been used for other purposes so those rooms will be converted back.
Hetherington said Pemberton was the only area to qualify for a modular classroom, despite overcrowding at other schools (namely Mamquam Elementary), because there were no other elementary schools in the Pemberton area to accommodate the kindergarten class.
"Within Squamish and Whistler, full day kindergarten can be accommodated," he said. "Pemberton doesn't have that option."
Carpentry students excel, cook training drops the ball
Trades training and career education generated different levels of success within the school district as carpentry students passed their final written exams with flying colours while cook training students fumbled on the written exam.
Howe Sound Secondary and Pemberton Secondary School carpentry programs more than adequately prepared students for the exam as 100 per cent of students at both schools passed.
"We're very supportive of the very successful and practical program," said Howe Sound Secondary principal Rose MacKenzie.
Six Pemberton Secondary School carpentry students are working full time as carpenter apprentices and, of those, three have had their sponsorship transferred from the Sea to Sky School District to employers.
The number of Howe Sound Secondary students working as full time apprentices will not be known until Oct. 31.
However cook training at Howe Sound Secondary was not as successful - potentially a result of the final exam's recent standardization.
Only four of 14 students at Howe Sound Secondary successfully passed their practical and written exams, but Squamish cooks in training weren't the only B.C. students to have difficulty.
Province wide there was only a 40 per cent success rate for the program and a meeting will be held Nov. 4 and 5 between Trades Training Partners, Industry Training Authority and instructors to discuss the results.
In the past, each of the 13 institutions offering the program created and administered their own exam and the success rate was much higher.
The carpentry and cook training programs run every two years and should be returning in September 2011. The school district is also considering introducing a hair design program at Howe Sound Secondary in September 2011.
