At the Board meeting of December 14, 2021, the Board of Trustees reviewed the revised financial estimates for the current 2021-2022 year.
Associate Director of Education, Bonnie Norton, introduced Manager of Finance, Ashley Hutchinson, who presented the revised estimates to the Board of Trustees.
“The estimates include estimated actual enrolment and staffing as of October 31, 2021, and any known expenditure changes since the June 2021 budget submission,” began Hutchinson.
“As you know, most of our funding is driven by enrolment, and our revised estimates indicate that our enrolment increased over the 2020-2021 Financial Statements by approximately 105 FTE, with total enrolment of 13,164 students.”
Total 2021-2022 expenditures are estimated at approximately $204.3 million.
“For 2021-2022, the board is forecasting an in-year deficit for operating purposes of $178,709. This amount will be taken from accumulated surplus set aside at the end of August 2021 leaving an estimated operating surplus of $5.7 million for August 31, 2022. Although this budget forecasts an overall use of the board accumulated surplus, the revised budget still meets Ministry compliance requirements,” noted Hutchinson. “Contributing factors to this change include approved staffing changes and additional contractual ICT software costs.”
Revenue for COVID-19 expenditures total $4.9 million funded by the Ministry, with an additional $695,000 funded by the Board. Total COVID-19 expenditures amount to $5.57 million and include additional staffing for special education, remote learning costs, enhanced cleaning for school bus transportation, and costs for additional mental health supports, other technology related costs, ventilation, and additional teaching staff to reduce class sizes.
The Board will provide interim reports in February and May, with the final financial statements’ presentation to the Board of Trustees in November 2022.
