The Burnaby school district will cut six full-time equivalent staff positions to balance next year's budget – and more cuts are on the way for the following school year, according to a budget report this week.
The school board passed a $400,706,665 preliminary operating budget for 2024-25 at a public meeting Tuesday.
Included in the financial plan is the elimination of the elementary school Challenge Program representing 2.5 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions, and the District Library Resource Centre, including a full-time librarian position. The budget also includes a cut of 2.5 FTE from the district's staff development team, according to a budget presentation by secretary-treasurer Ishver Khunguray.
The cuts represent a $682,748 saving.
Next year, the district expects it will have to cut 6.5 FTE in elementary custodians and four FTE from the district's program review team, representing a further saving of $998,957, according to the presentation.
Khunguray said the cuts are needed because "unprecedented enrolment growth" has led to facility capacity constraints.
"The need to support this growth has meant the district must continue to invest in portables, increase staffing to maintain service levels and make the necessary technology investments required to upkeep and upgrade the district's technology infrastructure and assets," stated his presentation.
Accommodating the increased local enrolment has also meant the district has had to turn away fee-paying international students, leading to a decline in revenue.
School board vice-chair Kristin Schnider blamed the province for school boards across the province having to make "incredibly difficult decisions" about where to cut.
"Year after year, we see districts having to trim more and more to meet the legislative requirement of a balanced budget," she said in a report. "Quite simply, there just aren't enough funds in the system to meet the growing needs of students, staff and school communities, especially when coupled with capacity constraints resulting from record enrolment increases."
Specifically, Schnider said the province should provide mid-year funding for the children of temporary residents and refugee claimants who arrive at Burnaby schools after Sept. 30.
Currently the province provides no funding for these students, meaning school districts must absorb the costs of their education for the rest of the school year.
Khunguray told the NOW the district has seen an influx of post Sept. 30 registrations "largely driven by (temporary resident registrants)" in the last few years.
The district expects an increase of 1,041 regular, school-aged students next year, 765 of whom are expected to be learning English as another language.
At the same time, the district anticipates a 79-student decrease in fee-paying international students, from 977 this year to 898 next year.
That’s compared to an all-time high in international student enrolment of 1,480 in 2019-20.
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