The New Westminster Secondary School athletics programs spent a whopping $100,000 from the school’s operating budget on taxis to shuttle high school students to and from games.
That’s just one of the details high school parents heard at the school’s advisory council meeting on Thursday night, which superintendent John Gaiptman, secretary-treasurer Al Balanuik, trustee Michael Ewen and principal Phil Cookson attended to talk to concerned parents about budget changes for next year.
“We need to make changes in how we fund athletics,” Cookson told the roughly 25 parents who turned up to the meeting. “We can’t fund athletics at the expense of kids using 10-year-old computers.”
Parents at the high school have been asking for more information after the district slashed the school’s budget this year in a bid to save money. The budget adjustments didn’t impact programs this year, but many parents were concerned about next year.
On Thursday night, they heard that the district is increasing fees for athletics and the international baccalaureate program (an advanced learning program) to offset the cost of offering the specialty programs. Using the senior basketball team as an example, Cookson told parents that if the school covered all of the costs associated with the program it would be about $120 per students. Currently, families pay $75 per child – that rate will jump to about $85 next year, Cookson estimated.
Gaiptman noted that students whose families cannot afford to pay the fees will not be left out.
“No child would ever be unable to participate due to an inability to pay, and I don’t think that’ll every happen in this school,” he said.
International baccalaureate fees will increase by $55 next year, in addition to the $900 parents already pay for the program.
“We are covering $10,000 worth of costs that we can now reinvest in learning materials for everyone else,” Cookson said.
There will be no impact on the school’s popular music and Hyack football programs, because both of those programs already have healthy fundraising initiatives, Cookson said.
“They do have the major advantage of having the music auxiliary association – same with football – (they) raise about 85 or 90 per cent of the costs,” he said.
Beyond the minor fees increases, Cookson said there will be no change to other education programs, though the district has devised a new budget formula in terms of how the finances are distributed. Hard costs that the school has no control over are, such as photocopies, books and furniture, are now going to be paid for at the district level.
Cookson anticipates next year’s spending budget at $339,000.
“I can say with confidence that is going to be a figure we can work with. We can maintain all of our programs,” he said.
In terms of helping managing costs, Gaiptman pointed out another idea that district is considering in order to cut down on textbook losses. It is an issue at the high school where expensive textbooks are often not returned. He suggested a $100 textbook deposit to be paid when a student arrives at the high school and then returned when they leave the school and all books are returned.
“It’s not a fee, but something had to be doe to mitigate the loss of textbooks,” he said.
But parent council advisory member Mary Ann McKenzie said that was “a big chunk of change” in addition to other school fees they must pay at the beginning of the year.
“You would only pay once at the start of Grade 8,” Cookson responded.
The parents who spoke seemed generally accepting of the additional fees.
One parent said she worked in the Vancouver school district, which doesn’t pay to transport student athletes, and also charged for lost textbooks.
Another frustrated parent said she offered to drive her child’s team when they were at Glenbrook and was told she couldn’t – the students were taking taxis instead.
“We are a little district that tries to be everything that all people,” said the woman, who said she worked in the Surrey school district.
She noted the “ludicrous” amount teachers in New Westminster receive for professional development – $750 per teacher, according to the union contract.
“The rest of us get by on 100 each,” she said.
She also called for the district to close Hume Park Elementary.
“We are in this huge mess that we are all paying for because we can’t say no,” she said.
The school district currently owes almost $5 million to the province for previous budget shortfalls and is currently reviewing its spending overall.
