Cost pressures — including $350,000 to manually count votes in October's trustee election — continue to impact its financial planning, says Red Deer Public Schools.
On May 14, the Board of Trustees approved a budget with $139,159,549 in revenue and $139,859,549 in expenses. To cover the $700,000 shortfall, the division will access reserve funds, leaving about $3.5 million remaining.
The division said while about $2 million in additional funding is expected from the provincial government over the 2024-2025 school year, cost pressures continue to impact the division's financial planning.
Contributing costs include:
• A growing number of newcomer students.
• Rising costs for materials and supplies, utilities and insurance.
• Higher employee costs for a third consecutive year, with increases of $796 per Classified and CUPE employee and $947 per certificated employee.
• A projected $350,000 cost for the 2025 trustee election, which is significantly higher than previous elections due to the ban on vote tabulation machines requiring increased staffing costs for manual counts.
“We appreciate the increase in funding from the provincial government. However, we continue to make tough decisions to prioritize students and staffing. One of these decisions was to not increase comprehensive fees for middle and high school families," said board chair Nicole Buchanan, in a statement.
"We know many families are feeling financial pressure, and we wanted to avoid adding to that burden.”
The division said despite the challenges, the approved budget maintains a strong focus on student learning and wellness. Key investments include maintaining staffing levels; continuing a comprehensive bullying prevention program; continuing to support dual credit programming; and adding a 0.6 Academic Support Teacher in all schools to provide literacy and numeracy support for students.
“This budget reflects the Board’s commitment to putting students first,” Buchanan said.
“Despite financial challenges, we are focused on supporting classrooms, maintaining staff, and ensuring students have access to the resources and programming they need to thrive. Every available dollar is being invested in excellence in teaching and learning.”
Superintendent Chad Erickson said the division continues to invest in strategies that improve student outcomes and support the mental health and wellbeing of our school communities.”
“This budget allows us to maintain the programs and supports that make a difference in students’ lives, even as costs rise and expectations grow," Erickson said.
The division will submit the approved budget to Alberta Education by May 31.
