It was a sobering affair at Tuesday's board of education meeting.
Despite an empty council chamber, trustees spent time voicing concerns and expectations for the school coming years in regards to the district's budget process.
Secretary-treasurer Al Balanuik presented the board with the final budget numbers to be submitted to the Ministry of Education.
While, as previously reported by The Record, the board was able to approve a balanced operating budget by cutting about 60 positions, the school district will still finish the year with a deficit of about $1.6 million. This, in addition to the almost $2.8 million deficit carried forward from last year, brings the district's total shortfall to more than $4.4 million, according to the report Balanuik presented to trustees.
"This year marks the end of spending beyond our means," he told the board. "Next year marks a return to spending within our means, and the first step toward repaying what we owe the provincial government."
Balanuik said as of right now the district is projecting a "slim" surplus in next year's budget of about $20,000, which will immediately be put towards the district's debt to the provincial government.
In the report to the board, Balanuik stated senior staff is looking into various cost-savings measures, including a shared services model.
"The "shared services delivery model" allows two or more school districts to share the service of one specialist," he said.
The district has already begun using this model by hiring Sheldon Lee, a certified management accountant, as its director of finance. New Westminster will share Lee's services with school districts in the Central Coast and West Vancouver Island.
"I've captured only a few of the most salient items," Balanuik said of the other measures to improve the district's financial situation listed in the report, which included monthly financial reporting, more timely invoice processing and a planned consultation process.
"For the first time we're actually getting an accurate assessment of where our spending goes and is coming from," said trustee Lisa Graham of the final budget report presented to the board.
The other trustees agreed that for once the numbers were accurate and this will ultimately help them make better budget decisions in the future.
"(We will) continue forward this way and be as transparent as possible to show parents we're doing our best now," said trustee MaryAnn Mortensen.
While trustees at Tuesday night's meeting admitted they were partially to blame for the budget problems the district is now facing, they said some of the blame needs to be placed on the provincial government for its inability to provide adequate funding to school districts across the province.
"The 60 positions we cut, they weren't doing nothing," said trustee James Janzen. "The cost pressures, CPP, municipal pension plans, teacher pension plans, benefit increases, all of that is just an indicator to me that the funding we receive is inadequate."
Mortensen said first the district must accept responsibility and then the board can move forward and lobby the government for more money.
