Schools up and down the Sunshine Coast are set to receive half a million dollars to stem funding shortages caused by shifting enrolment patterns brought on by COVID-19.
The $500,000 is needed to avoid staff layoffs during the school year, to prevent staff from being transferred between schools and programs, and “to continue to offer suitable supports to all students in the district,” according to an Oct. 14 School District No. 46 (SD46) board meeting staff report.
Another $150,000 – this time from SD46’s share of the federal government’s Safe Return to School Fund – has been earmarked to maintain staffing levels.
The money is needed because 11 of the district’s 13 schools are facing unexpected enrolment declines based on preliminary figures shared at the meeting, and seven schools now face funding shortfalls, since funding is tied to enrolment.
Kinnikinnick Elementary School saw the largest decrease at 17 per cent, translating to an expected deficit of $208,493. Chatelech Secondary School was the hardest-hit high school, with a 10 per cent enrolment decline translating to an estimated deficit of $101,690.
Enrolment in distance learning programs, meanwhile, has jumped to 212 from an expected 73 full-time students – the majority of whom are enrolled in Sunshine Coast Online – translating to an increase of about $684,000 in funding allocation.
In his report, secretary-treasurer Nicholas Weswick identified the newly introduced Sunshine Coast Online learning program as “the major factor influencing the decline in school budgets.” The program was set up for students who opted not to return to brick-and-mortar schools because of the pandemic.
Original enrolment figures had been estimated before SD46 introduced the online program.
Despite those enrolment shifts, schools aren’t being asked to reorganize their classes or reduce staff to adjust, “which may present some opportunity later in the year if students wish to transfer back,” said Weswick. That’s led to the need for supplemental funding.
The school district has about $2.3 million in unrestricted surplus funds after setting about two per cent aside as a reserve, said Weswick.
Trustees voted unanimously to move ahead with the distribution of $500,000.
SD46 is expected to share its final enrolment numbers in November.
