Wednesday April 29, 2020 ~ WEST SHORE & SOOKE
by Mary Brooke ~ West Shore Voice News
Due to the impact of COVID-19 on people’s mobility, there will be fewer international students attending studies in Canada overall, including those who come to Sooke School District 62 (SD62) on the west shore to undertake their highschool education or improve their English language skills.
The budget impacts for the school district were outlined by SD62 Secretary-Treasurer Harold Cull at the board’s public meeting on Tuesday evening April 28. The meeting was available live online through the SD62 website using the MS Teams platform.
Prior to COVID-19, SD62 was working with budget numbers that showed about $600,000 being available for ‘discretionary’ spending, i.e. to address specific priorities as determined by the board.
Now with a projected $2.4 million shortfall in international student tuition revenues as well as drop in facility rental revenues, the amount of overall shortfall for the 2020-2021 academic year budget is still unknown.
Also, if the projected overall student enrolment in SD62 goes down for any reason in September 2020 (compared to projections made in March/April 2020), the amount of per-student funding from the BC Government could be different as well.
However, with all the changes happening so frequently in all aspects of the BC economy due to the economic impacts of the pandemic, it is also not known if the Ministry of Education will make any changes in how they deliver their funding to school districts in September.
It’s conceivable that per-pupil funding could also be topped up for COVID-related emergency expenses and cost overruns, paid variably to different school districts based on their growth pressures or other unforeseen circumstances during the pandemic such as impacts on in-school meal programs and addressing the needs of vulnerable learners.
Increasing reserve, cutting expenditures:
School districts cannot under the School Act run a deficit. They must balance the books.
So now in response to the impacts of the pandemic on learning conditions, the SD62 board is now looking at increasing their previous reserve goal of 2% to something more (as much as 3.23%), by cutting back on expenditures from now until June (in the 2019-2020 fiscal year) while they say still maintaining commitments.
This is a natural response to crisis — conserve what you can by ‘saving’ and spending less, but hopefully also acknowledging one’s obligations. The idea is to respond appropriately but without over-reacting.
SD62 is presently saving on things like fuel costs (as the large fleet of school buses is not running), and the operational costs of most of their 27 school buildings (only 3 buildings are actively occupied on a daily basis at the moment). There is also a saving on the fees paid to ‘teachers on call’ (TOCs) who normally replace regular teaching staff in classrooms; most teaching is now being done remotely.
Core & Pandemic Principles:
Cull’s presentation at the Tuesday evening board meeting proposed “Core & Pandemic Principles” as being
- a healthy and safe environment,
- supporting essential workers,
- supporting vulnerable students,
- and providing continuity of learning.
Responding to the virus in real-time:
The world is if course now adjusting to the conditions of the infectious viral pandemic that in the management of “BC’s pandemic” has forced communities and the economy into a modified form of lockdown.
While schools have continued to operate in Sooke School District 62 (SD62) in support of the children of essential workers and the most vulnerable students (those with learning challenges and also those whose families are supported with meals), most of SD62’s over 11,000 students have been continuing their educational experience from their home base.
This has changed the use of school buildings since after March break. While all schools have been officially open, according to SD62 Superintendent Scott Stinson, he also itemizes that only three elementary schools have been in active use since the onset of the pandemic, serving about 65 children of essential workers (Saseenos, Lakewood and Colwood).
Where and how students will be learning:
As the Ministry of Education begins to authorize the reactivation of some in-class learning (working within parameters of the Public Health Officer, yet to come), more school spaces will be used but by fewer students. Many students — especially those in the higher grade levels — will continue to work remotely from home.
Levels of instruction during the pandemic have been established as follows in SD62, said Superintendent Scott Stinson during the April 28 board meeting: five hours per week for elementary, six to seven hours per week for middle school, and two to three hours per week per course for the secondary schools.
This is all part of maintaining the required physical distancing during the pandemic (a distance of 2 metres of 6 feet between persons is thought to be enough to prevent the transmission of the COVID-19 coronavirus which jumps from person to person in large moist droplets that cannot travel far).
Frequent hand washing, not touching one’s face, and keeping that distance from other people are helpful methods of keeping the virus from entering the body through mucus membranes (nose, mouth and eyes). People should stay home if they are feeling in any way unwell.
The impact on Grade 12’s in 2020:
“This is certainly a tough time for our soon-to-be graduates,” said SD62 Chair Ravi Parmar at tonight’s SD62 board meeting.
Superintendent Stinson will be setting up a committee to develop a plan to support graduates, including potential end of the year graduation ceremonies, and other commencement opportunities, in consultation with students for students”.
All students who complete their assignments will achieve grade/year completion, it was stated by Education Minister Rob Fleming back on March 17 when he announced the cessation of in-class learning.
The deadline for applying for post-secondary scholarships was extended slightly, said Stinson during the April 28 board meeting.
==== About the writer:
West Shore Voice News editor Mary Brooke, B.Sc., Cert PR has been covering SD62 news at the board and committee level since 2014.