The Rocky View Schools (RVS) Board of Trustees approved a $300.9-million operating budget for the upcoming 2022-23 school year, during their regular meeting on May 26.
Focusing on four different budget priorities, the main goal of the public school district’s budget was to support students, according to RVS Superintendent Greg Luterbach.
“What we want to do is make sure that we are spending the money on our own kids so that’s really what this plan is,” he said.
The four budget priorities include advancing student success through school-level supports, enhancing innovative programming and learning spaces for students, improving literacy and numeracy development at all levels, and boosting mental health and wellness for students and staff.
Overall spending for the division is estimated to be $300.9 million for the school year. However, current funding will only cover $291.7 million, meaning RVS will have to cover costs using stored reserves.
“This budget is 2.4 per cent reserve-funded and that certainly is not sustainable in the long haul,” said Ward 4 (north Rocky View County) Trustee and board vice-chair Norma Lang. “[The budget] does foreshadow some tricky spots that we can anticipate next year.”
To advance student success through school-level support, RVS has allocated $191.7 million to assist schools in covering costs for substitute teachers, equipment, repairs, and other supplies. Seventy-three per cent of those funds will go toward staffing and resources in kindergarten to Grade 9 schools. The remaining 27 per cent will be allocated to high schools.
RVS has dedicated $40 million to enhance programming and learning spaces for students. With this funding, the division plans to increase the Inclusive Education Services budget, which provides classroom support to students with different learning capabilities.
Additionally, $4 million will be allocated to the Community Learning Centres located in Airdrie, Cochrane, and Chestermere.
Due to funding cuts by the Alberta government, pre-kindergarten programs within RVS will rely on funding from the division's reserves. These programs will require nearly $2 million to maintain, according to RVS staff.
“This is an area where we’ve continued to fund even though we’ve seen a major reduction in direct funding from the government,” said RVS director of finance Steve Thomas.
“The sudden decline in funding for the pre-k programming is alarming, to say the least,” added Lang. “[It is] certainly not sustainable to be throwing $2 million of reserves at that every year.”
As part of the division’s goals related to reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, RVS is also creating the Indigenous Education branch.
“Establishing this branch will ensure we are supporting our schools with a division-wide approach to our commitment to truth and reconciliation,” Luterbach said. “This is an important area of focus for RVS and we look forward to providing these supports for our classrooms.”
To improve literacy and numeracy skills within RVS, the district will continue to support six learning specialists who will focus on best practices in teaching literacy and numeracy. Funding to continue with these supports will partially come from the government, and RVS is awaiting an official funding announcement regarding these supports.
Meanwhile, mental health spending will be allocated $2 million to support student well-being and mental health, according to the budget. RVS will continue to maintain 12 in-school guidance counsellors within the division’s high schools as well as provide four Stepping Stones for Mental Health staff across the division to offer support for programs and activities that promote positive mental health.
There will be no increase in general school fees. However, options courses, like food studies or mechanics, may face a maximum of a four per cent increase.
