The New Westminster school district plans to push its budget process one month down the line due to COVID-19.
The school district must submit its 2020/21 budget to the B.C. Ministry of Education by June 30. Before that, the budget needs to go through a process at the school board table, including three readings of the budget bylaw.
Bettina Ketcham, the district’s secretary-treasurer, made a presentation to the board’s operations policy and planning committee on April 21 asking them to approve a new, extended budget timeline.
She noted that the focus of school district’s efforts for the past weeks has been its response to COVID-19 and the suspension of in-class instruction.
“We’ve been busy at work with all hands on deck with the online instruction pieces,” she said. “To that end, we have had to somewhat put on the back burner the budget for the upcoming year. But now that a lot of the pieces for which we’ve had to do some significant planning are well underway, we’re able to resume back in terms of our budget process for the upcoming school year.”
Ketcham noted the budget process is simply being shifted out one month.
First and second reading of the 2020/21 budget bylaw was originally scheduled to take place April 21 but is now proposed for May 12, while third and final reading – following work with the district leadership team and recommendations from the superintendent – moves from April 28 to May 26.
Ketcham said the change still gives the district more than enough time to have its budget ready for presentation to the ministry.
“In fact, we still have plenty of time by putting forward our third and final reading of the budget bylaw on our intended May 26 date,” she said.
Trustees voted unanimously in favour of the new timeline, so the committee’s recommendation will now go to a regular school board meeting for approval.
