Saturday, April 20, 2019 ~ WEST SHORE
~ West Shore Voice News
The Sooke School District 62 (SD62) Board of Education has about $114.5 million in their operating budget for 2019-2020.
About $10.6 million of that is being called ‘discretionary’, i.e. beyond the core expenditures of salaries and facility operations. It was previously estimated as $9.9 million for what could be considered areas of flexibility. But increased student enrolment for 2019-2020 has produced more funds for operations (through the Ministry of Education’s per-pupil funding and associated funds), bringing the ‘discretionary’ level of operational funding to $10.6 million.
Expansion of expenditures for IT, and a more creative mix of expenditures for supporting the needs of teachers and students seem to be the thrust of remaining discussions.
Throughout the budget process, SD62 Secretary-Treasurer Harold Cull has stated the district’s view that public input is welcome and encouraged.
The next public board meeting on Tuesday April 23 (7 pm at the board office on Jacklin Road) is an opportunity for public input.
LINKS:
- Here is an outline of the ‘discretionary’ expenditures (as first published April 10), following the Resource Committee meeting where details are hashed out before the budget goes to the full board, including a description of the IT expansion.
- Here’s the power point budget presentation from the March 12 board meeting.
- There is also a quick public survey.
The K-12 public education system uses taxpayer dollars from the full community. Public education aims to support a functioning citizenry, which affects employment, communities and participation in the electoral process.
=========== Notes:
West Shore Voice News publishes news about education, and locally for the west shore about SD62 .