Leanna Dulle, secretary treasurer with the Medicine Hat Public School Division, presented board trustees a balanced budget for the 2025-26 school year following three years of planned deficits.--SUPPLIED PHOTO
bmiller@medicinehatnews.com
The Medicine Hat Public School Division presented trustees a balanced budget for the 2025-26 school year on Tuesday, with total spending pegged over $95 million.
The new balanced budget follows three years of planned deficits the division ran as it adjusted to less funding due to reduced student enrolment. During the planned deficits the school division used up most of its reserve funding.
This upcoming school year MHPSD will not run a deficit, but it is also not expecting to add to its depleted reserve funds as it continues to focus on limiting classroom sizes and offering students vital support.
“We are committed to maintaining the quality of excellence, even though we have reduced funding,” said secretary treasurer Leanna Dulle.
The reduction in funding comes from zero increase in the government’s base per-student grant that equals approximately 50 per cent of the division’s overall grant funding.
“The challenge we do have this upcoming year is that there has not been an increase to the rate per student,” explains Dulle. “So we will have a time of rising expenses, but the amount per student is staying the same.”
However, the division will receive a small increase from other instructional grants which are expected to rise on average by more than two per cent in the 2025-26 school year.
Over the past 10 years the City of Medicine Hat has experienced a steady reduction of babies born, and this has resulted in a slower pace for school aged children.
Next year MHPSD is anticipating a reduction of more than 150 students and is planning to reduce its total staff by 3.6 full-time positions in accordance, however no staff layoffs are anticipated.
This is because the division expects the staffing reduction will happen naturally through attrition as teachers and support staff retire. Rather than laying off staff, the division will simply not fill the roles once vacant.
The reductions will come in the roles of instructional, support and centralized staff.
Despite the reduction in staff, the division is still facing rising operational costs of transportation as well as salaries and benefits.
Staffing is the division’s largest expenditure as it spends approximately 75 per cent on salaries and benefits, employing 688 full-time positions.
Nearly four per cent of the division’s total budget is spent on transportation costs. However, this cost has decreased due to a reduction in the number of contracted buses the division utilizes. Additional funding has also been set aside for expected increased teacher wages as ATA staff will be negotiating a new four-year collective agreement. Likely settlement details will not be available until mid to late 2025.
The division will also pay its support workers an increased wage following negotiations with CUPE. Despite a 3.6 reduction in full-time staff, MHPSD expects benefits will continue to rise to an increase of more than $53,000.
