Budget 2017-18 Update
We will require more time to evaluate, however our preliminary analysis indicates that the 2017-18 budget for Chinook School Division is worse than we initially thought. The Board has been planning for a few months to accommodate cuts in funding. Unfortunately, the actual cut in funding is approximately $3.3M more than we anticipated and we now have to go back, review and do some further planning.
Budget Highlights
Chinook received an overall reduction in operational funding of $5.94M (7.3% less)
- There will be a significant decrease in several specific areas:
- Governance budget has been reduced by 35.6%
- Supports for Learning reduced by 24%
- Instructional Resources reduced by 12%
- Transportation reduced by 9%
- Plant Operation and Maintenance reduced by 4.3%
- The Chinook Board will continue to work collaboratively with SCCs, communities and the Ministry as we try to mitigate the impact this will have on students in the classroom
We are still analyzing and unpacking the details of individual budget lines at this point. We will know more about the full impact once we do a much deeper review.
Media Release March 22, 2017
On March 22, the 2017-2018 provincial budget was announced in the legislature with a 1.2% decrease in operating funds for the Education sector. It will take a few days to analyze Chinook School Division’s specific allotment, however this decrease falls within the parameters anticipated by the Board and adjustments will need to be made.
“As the provincial government has indicated, Saskatchewan is going through some difficult economic times and all areas of the public sector are being asked to tighten up to get us through this period,” said Board Chair Larry Caswell, “This budget brings forth significant changes to the education sector and the school divisions are now faced with a challenge. We intend to keep student success as top priority and remain focused on ensuring our students receive the best education and supports possible.”
Director of Education Liam Choo-Foo, indicated that Chinook will do everything they can to minimize any direct impact on students and schools, “There is a recognition that with fewer resources, we will not be able to operate in the same way as in the past. However, our Board is committed to making the necessary personnel adjustments by attrition where possible and also keeping any restructuring as far away from the classroom as we can,” said Choo-Foo.
As the Board works to finalize their budget for 2017-18, they will continue to align the Division strategic plan with the Education sector plan. Chinook is committed to Literacy and will focus on student engagement as they work to improve graduation rates and attendance.
