St. James-Assiniboia School Division settles new budget

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This article was published 18/03/2022 (1476 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On March 8, the St. James-Assiniboia School Division’s board of trustees approved a $118,092,259 budget for the 2022-23 school year, officials say.

The average homeowner in the division will pay $15.31 (0.92 per cent) less on their education property tax bill this year. The 2022 net property tax after a 25 per cent rebate is $717.42.

“Our school division has navigated the COVID-19 pandemic by working as a team. The board of trustees, senior administration, staff, students, and community members must continue to work together to ensure every student and educator can learn and work in spaces that are safe, supportive, and equitable,” Cheryl Smukowich, SJASD’s chair, said in a March 16 statement.

“We look forward to returning to programs, school events, celebrations and many other activities that have been paused. As community representatives, the SJASD board of trustees will ensure that our schools provide the programs and services that are wanted and needed to meet the academic, social, and emotional needs of our students.”

According to the same statement, the budget saw a five per cent ($5,742,517) increase from the 2021-22 school year.

The new budget will continue to support the five-year plan for $16 million in school building renovations, as well as the five-year $9.2 million plan for technology and network upgrades and replacements.

The SJASD’s chair of finance Craig Glennie said in the statement that collaboration with the division’s provincial counterparts secured “adequate funding to maintain all our programs and services, as well as our small class sizes”.

During the 2020-2021 school year the SJASD had a student to educator ratio of 13.2, on par with the provincial average.

The division’s administrative costs are budgeted at 2.51 per cent, slightly below the current provincial guideline. The division is also projecting a gross operating reserve of $3,929,339, equalling 3.3 per cent of the 2022-23 operating expenditures. The provincial guideline for operating reserves is 4 per cent.

As of Sept. 30, 2021, there were 8,323 students enrolled in the SJASD.

Visit sjasd.ca for more information.