Clawback
An audit found that some projected enrolments didn’t materialize this school year so School District No. 46 (SD46) was told to repay $124,395 to the Ministry of Education, trustees heard last week.
Each year the Ministry of Education conducts a check of enrolment in selected schools across the province and this year Elphinstone, Chatelech and Pender Harbour secondary schools and the Sunshine Coast Alternative School (SCAS) were audited.
Schools are given funding based on each full-time student enrolled and given higher per-pupil funding for those students designated as having special needs.
The enrolment check on the Coast showed 12.5 fewer students at the alternative school due to projected enrolments that didn’t materialize and the misinterpretation of the “10/10 rule.”
The rule specifies how much coursework or instructional hours a student needs before that student can be officially counted as registered for the year (10 hours of work or 10 per cent of course work).
“We were interpreting the 10/10 rule incorrectly, so the majority of our adult education enrolment was clawed back,” Weswick said.
The money will have to be found in the 2016-17 SD46 budget and returned to the ministry.
“The overall result was a positive learning experience, although the level of recoveries from SCAS was significant and it will have an impact on their budget in the 2016-17 school year,” Weswick said in his report to the board.
“In all cases, the audit has led to a greater understanding of the enrolment count requirements, and school staffs should be commended for their skills and helpfulness throughout. We have already implemented procedures to ensure continued compliance to ministry guidelines.”
Dry Grad
During the May 10 board meeting, SD46 superintendent of schools Patrick Bocking reported that $8,253 will go to dry grad celebrations as a result of a fundraiser put on by the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch.
Every spring the Liquor Distribution Branch runs an in-store fundraiser that asks patrons to consider giving $1 toward funding alcohol-free Grade 12 graduation ceremonies in local communities.
This year $8,253 was given on the Sunshine Coast and that money will be split between high schools based on the number of full-time students graduating from Grade 12 in each school.
Director of instruction, student support services, Vanessa White, said the money can only be used for strictly alcohol-free events.
“Each high school will have a different plan. Some of them it will be used for a banquet, a dinner/dance, sometimes there are boat cruises involved,” White said.
“It’s a huge amount of money that comes to those particular events and it really does help the grad classes. It gives them a big kick-off towards their fundraising. We’re always very appreciative.”
Facility grant
The board approved a capital expenditure of $744,665 by way of an annual facility grant for the 2016-17 school year to pay for upgrades such as new roofing at Roberts Creek Elementary, replacing the exterior windows at Langdale Elementary and a recoating of the gym floor at Cedar Grove Elementary.
Annual budget
The school board also approved a $41,961,487 budget for the 2016-17 school year, about $1.95 million of which is related to amortization of assets.
Of that total budget, about $32.2 million will be spent on instruction, $1.9 million on district administration, $6.5 million on operations and maintenance (including $1.86 million in amortization) and $1.1 million on transportation (including $90,000 in amortization).
The 2016-17 school year budget includes increased funding to support students with special needs ($315,000) and a surplus fund allocation to schools of $375,000. The total budget is down slightly from the previous school year’s budget of $42,800,604.
