Amended budget
School trustees passed their amended 2015-16 budget on Feb. 9, earmarking more than $600,000 in unused funds for items such as stage replacement and technology supports.
School District No. 46 (SD46) amends its budget yearly after the enrolment numbers are reported. This school year saw an increase of almost 100 full-time students.
The increase in students resulted in more revenue than expected for SD46, and that, with unused surplus funds from the previous school year resulted in a total of $638,710 that could be earmarked in the amended budget.
Trustees voted unanimously to carrying forward $375,210 to next year’s preliminary budget discussions, spending $95,000 on replacement of aging stages in SD46 schools, supplementing the technology budget with $70,000, providing an additional $50,000 in support to the Sunshine Coast Alternative School, earmarking $25,000 for software licensing fees and $23,500 to the economic stability dividend (ESD).
“The ESD, as it’s known, is a contractual, provincially negotiated increase to both of our collectively bargained employee groups,” noted secretary treasurer Nicholas Weswick.
The total amended budget passed on Feb. 9 shows that SD46 will spend $42,800,604 for the 2015-16 school year, up slightly from the previous school year’s budget of $42,273,759.
Info sessions
Next week students in SD46 will take part in workshops aimed at educating them about online safety and what the district has to offer students who identify as part of the lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender and questioning (LBGTQ) community.
The Taking Care of Ourselves, Taking Care of Others presentations will come to elementary schools between Feb. 22 and 26 and will teach students about staying safe online and avoiding sexual exploitation.
There will be a parent presentation on the same subject on Feb. 24 at Gibsons Elementary School from 6:15 to 7:45 p.m. for any parents who want to learn what their kids were taught during the school presentations.
The Out in Schools talk pertaining to the LBGTQ community will also take place Feb. 22 to 26 for Grade 7 students and all high school students.
Shared calendar
Students on the District Student Leadership Team (DSLT) have come up with an easy solution to a long-standing problem in SD46 – connecting all of the high schools and alternative schools on the Coast.
Student Trustee Wyatt Henley said the DSLT group has pitched a shared calendar of events that will allow students at any school to see what’s available throughout the district and opt to take part in specific events when appropriate.
It will fill a need expressed by alternative school students who felt they were left out of the loop.
