Palliser facing $1.5 million deficit in 2021-22 budget
By Al Beeber on May 27, 2021.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com The Palliser School Division is facing a deficit of about $1.5 million after its board of trustees passed a motion to accept the 2021-22 budget.The board will be asking permission from Education Minister Adriana LaGrange to use some reserve funds to balance the budget.
In a press release, the school division said that revenues for the 2021-22 school year “remained the same as the funding profile supplied by Alberta Education in the spring of 2020. The Palliser School Division is pleased there was no funding reduction but is concerned that funding for student growth and increases in costs are not being met, putting a strain on the education system.”
Palliser anticipates a “modest” growth in enrollment next year “coupled with a 7.85 per cent increase in the Alberta School Employee Benefit Plan costs and the yearly staff salary grid increases that have contributed to the deficit budget.”
During the pandemic, the division increased mental health supports for students “and strived to maintain these supports for the 2021-22 school year with the recognition that students will require more assistance when returning to school next fall. The board also committed to maintaining the present number of teachers in the division and the strong support for our students requiring specialized services.”
Some open centralized positions will not be filled during the budget year to “offset inflationary cost pressures,” the board said. It’s also directed administration to continue efforts to lower the deficit.
Joanne Siljak, corporate services co-ordinator for Palliser, told The Herald Wednesday if the education minister denies the request to use reserve funds “it would be back to the drawing board. We have not heard that the Ministry has ever denied a request to use surplus funds.” Follow @albeebHerald on Twitter 4
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