A second straight multi-million dollar budget deficit has forced the hand of Wolf Creek Public Schools (WCPS).
Trustees learned at their meeting on Thursday, April 21 that the division was facing a $2.6 million deficit for the 2016-17 school year and that the cuts they avoided this school year would not happen next time around. In 2015-16, the board passed a balanced budget that saw them draw on operational reserves to the tune of $2.263 million to maintain their present teacher and staffing levels.
Unfortunately for WCPS, that level of subsidy was not sustainable and in an all-day special meeting of the board of trustees on Tuesday, April 26, a plan from administration was presented - and approved in principle by trustees - that will keep the number of teachers at the same level, but will eliminate 41 other positions and cut spending to meet the $2.6 million reduction necessary to balance the budget.
“That was the starting point for the board, who were engaged in the process and really wanted to minimize the classroom impact,” said WCPS acting superintendent Jayson Lovell in an interview last week.
“They focused on two things in generating this budget - providing a safe, caring and welcoming atmosphere for students in order to continue to build a high level of achievement, and to give a high level of support to staff and teachers so they can continue to develop the skills necessary to help the diverse needs of students. The issue was how to support doing those two priorities while meeting that $2.6 million target (for cuts).”
To date, there remains about $147,000 in savings to be found, while the board has allocated $2 million to operational reserves on an overall division budget of $87 million. Lovell explained the reserve allocation is important as a contingency considering there could be unexpected costs, especially with WCPS set to open a new junior high school in Blackfalds this fall.
“The board was challenged with this budget that will impact staff and some in the classrooms, but they approached it with a clear understanding that they needed to balance out the cuts,” said Lovell, who added the division anticipates a drop of 38 students in the fall with the added fall in provincial funding.
“The government did give us a budget with stable funding and enrolment growth support, but given the circumstances, it was difficult since the board did not having the benefit of the reserves it had back in 2012-13. This is the new reality we have to deal with and there will be a period of adjustment moving forward.”
Principals learned the affect the cuts would have on their schools in face-to-face meetings with Lovell and other administrative staff last week, while the rest of the WCPS staff and teachers were informed of the decisions in communication over the weekend.
Among the major cuts were four positions lost at the division office and reductions to departmental budgets for a saving of about $591,000 and $1.8 million with the loss of 29 educational assistant positions, one school social worker and seven learning coach positions across the division. Other budget changes include no spending from reserves and higher costs for teacher and staff salary grid increases as well as the new carbon levy that takes effect in 2017.
Teacher staffing levels will remain nearly unchanged at 338 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions - down just 1.71 FTE from 2015-16 - with school administration being provided with more time to support teachers and their professional development funding staying the same.
One important aspect that will remain at this year’s levels is the support for students that need the most assistance through the maintainin of the 14 full time inclusion coaches along with keeping the 134 full time level four educational assistants.
Funding for facility and bus maintenance will be kept at the current levels while WCPS will implement its new Bright Futures Play Academy Program for pre-school education in eight communities. Lovell stated some of the people affected by the job losses may be offered positions in the new program.
For their part, trustees recognize the position they are in and that there remains work to be done.
“The decisions we have made were thoughtful and we realize we still have some work to do and questions to be answered,” said board chair Trudy Bratland in an email last week.
”I can tell you that the board appreciated the work that the superintendency team did prior to the discussions as well as their ability to answer any questions we had of them.”
The budget will be again up for discussion at their next meeting tomorrow (Thursday, May 5) with final approval scheduled for June.