Catholic school board trustees on Tuesday approved audited financial statements from the 2023-34 fiscal year that reported an operating deficit of $367,000.--HANDOUT PHOTO
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The Medicine Hat Catholic school division has released a comprehensive summary of its 2023-24 audited financial statements following approval from trustees this week.
The financial statements report the division had an operating deficit of $367,000 in the 2023-24 school year, greater than the forecasted deficit of $166,000, an increase of more than $200,000.
During that fiscal year the division’s accumulated operating surplus was more than $1.88 million, including school generated funds, of which more than $570,000 remains in the division’s unrestricted reserves that is available to cover future deficits.
“The difference … is school generated funds, plus all the restricted reserves that we have, and those restricted reserves are more like a savings account,” explains Greg MacPherson, secretary treasurer. “That is put aside for specified purposes in the future.”
In total, division revenues were $38.8 million dollars in 2023-24, an increase of $1.6 million over the previous year. The increase is related to increased student enrolment, additional grants announced and a greater investment revenue from higher interest rates.
Total expenditures in 2023-24 were $39.1 million, compared to $36.6 million in the previous fiscal year.
The division reported an increase of $2.5 million in total expenditures over last year as maintenance and transportation costs continue to rise. The division also increased staffing levels and contracted services provided under Learning Services.
“So, pretty much right across the board everything’s getting more expensive,” says MacPherson. “Whether it’s the price of utilities or the parts for keeping our HVAC systems going, everything is getting more and more expensive.”
MacPherson explains the division also needed to hire more certified and non-certified staff to compensate for increased student enrolment numbers. As well, the division experienced an increased cost in school bus transportation due to inflation, plus rising costs of fuel and vehicle maintenance.
In summary, MacPherson says the division is running a deficit but has the reserves available to cover that cost. Moving forward they will have to account for a growing student population and the staff needed to accommodate each student.
“The division (financial reserves of more than $570,000) is lower than before but we still have it and we got through 2023-24 with a small deficit. So we’re very pleased with where the financial position of the division is.”
For additional information on the Medicine Hat Catholic School Board’s audited financial statements you can visit its website and click under the ‘News’ tab.
