The New Westminster school district will likely be digging into its surplus this year to compensate for, among other things, lower-than-expected enrolment.
Staff requested, and received, permission to appropriate $624,228 from the district’s unrestricted surplus to deal with budget shortfalls.
Budget adjustments arising from last year include $84,000 for contract reconciliation with a physio and occupational therapy organization, Kinsight, as well as $4,000 for staff furniture and $3,600 for local grants.
But the vast majority of the request is coming from new developments. In particular, the district estimates it will need $136,000 to pay for international students’ MSP. Staff also expect a funding shortfall of $291,000 from the Ministry of Education due to enrolment being lower than projected.
Finally, staff expect the district will need to spend an additional $105,000 on additional education assistants, based on September enrolment.
If the district uses the entire $625,000, the total unrestricted surplus would drop from just over $3.5 million to just shy of $2.9 million.
Staff said fluctuations in budgeting throughout the year aren't unusual, and this year's budgeting shortfall could resolve itself.
In the 2018/19 fiscal year, the board approved the appropriation of $500,000.
