The Richmond School District will get about $23.5 million more in funding next year compared to this year.
The province announced it’s raising the per-student funding overall in the province by about nine per cent, but with expected enrolment growth, Richmond's budget will go up by about 11.5 per cent.
School board chair Debbie Tablotney said the school district was waiting with “bated breath” on the announcement to see whether recently negotiated salary increases for teachers would be covered by an increase in funding.
The increased funding means the school district should be able to maintain same-level service or even increase some services, Tablotney told the Richmond News.
Last year, the board of education decided to dip into its reserves in order not to cut certain positions, including teacher librarians and some support staff.
But dipping into reserves isn’t sustainable as it’s a one-time solution, Tablotney added. The school district has been saving its reserves for special projects, for example, they put $12 million into upgrading ventilations systems this year.
The basic per-student funding this year is $7,885 whereas next year it will be $8,625.
Teachers ratified a new three-year contract in the fall, which included salary increases of 3.4 per cent in the first year as well as a top-up of $427 to each salary grid, a 5.5-6.75-per-cent increase in the second year – dependant on the Canadian Price Index (CPI) – and a two-to-three-per-cent increase in the third year, again depending on CPI.
Tablotney said school trustees across B.C. sent a message to the provincial government that any salary settlement “had to be funded by the province.”
“It was crucial – I think that message rang across the province,” she added.
When provincial funding didn’t match negotiated salary increases, school districts had to bear the costs – usually by cutting staff.
“It’s a godsend that (the province) heard us,” she added.
The increased budget for 2023/24 includes about $4.5 million more for special needs students, ESL and adult education, bringing that budget up to about $38 million.
About 82 per cent of the education budget is salaries and most of these are tied to union contracts, which is negotiated at the provincial level.
Enrolment in Richmond schools is forecast to be 21,397 in 2023/24, up by about 400 students from the current school year.
