UpFront New West schools will see $9M funding increase

But,with most of that money covering wage increases,how far will it really go?Trustees are facing that question now

JulieMacLellan jmaclellan@newwestrecord ca

The NewWestminster school district will get significantly more money from the province for its operations in 2023-24 to the tune of $9 2 million more than last year

But, as trustees grapple with a host of budget requests from staff, students and parents, it remains to be seen how far those dollars will go School District 40’s provincial funding will rise from $70 6 million in 2022-23 to $79 8 million in 2023-24

The bump in funding is two-fold, stemming from both enrolment growth and an increase in the B.C. Ministry of Education and Child Care’s per-student grants. Per-student allocations are going up 9.4 per cent, for a total of $8,625 per student.

SD40 secretary-treasurer Bettina Ketcham said most of that extra funding will be used to cover the costs of labour settlements that were provincially negotiated early this year.

“There’s really not a lot of room there that was contemplated outside of those wage settlements to reflect the pace of inflation, for example,” she told trustees at their April 11 operations committee meeting.

Right now, the district is working with a base budget for 2023-24 that shows a surplus of $178,000, assuming it keeps its operations essentially the same as in 2022-23.

WANTED: CUSTODIANS AND COUNSELLORS

As part of its budget process, the district seeks feedback from staff, parents and students.

At their April 25 board meeting, trustees heard presentations from the district parent advisory council and staff groups (the NewWestminsterTeachers’ Union, CUPE Local 409 and the NewWest- minster Principals and Vice-Principals Association) about budget priorities for 2023-24

SAFE SPACES: Students gather outside New Westminster Secondary School for a rally protesting sexual harassment at the school in May 2022. Issues around safety at the high school are in the spotlight again as the school district considers its 2023-24 budget.

Tops among those priorities were requests relat- ed to staffing, with custodians, education assistants and counsellors all being high on priority lists

Issues around safety at NewWestminster Second- ary School including surveillance cameras, vape detectors, frosting for glass classroom walls and solutions for drug-related activities were also cited as important.

Still other requests centred on supplies and equipment, including appliances for the life skills program at the high school, new Chromebooks for student use, and increased school budgets for supplies to keep up with inflationary costs.

SD40 superintendent Karim Hachlaf will bring his budget recommendations to trustees at their May 2 operations committee meeting.

The board is expected to approve the 2023-24 budget at its May 23 board meeting.