The New Westminster school district needs to find ways to save money to get out of the “precarious” financial situation it’s facing for 2020/21.
That was the message the school board’s secretary-treasurer, Bettina Ketcham, delivered to trustees at their April 28 school board meeting.
Ketcham, in a report to the board, noted the district’s current financial picture shows a projected accumulated surplus of just $417,000 for the 2020/21 school year – well below the $2 million that’s considered healthy to maintain.
“The $417,000 remaining in accumulated surplus for 2020/21 leaves the district in a precarious situation,” she noted in a report to the board.
Ketcham told trustees the district’s 2020/21 budget picture has changed a great deal since the full school board last met in March.
“We knew about COVID-19, but we could not have predicted how unprecedented the impacts would certainly be on all facets of life,” she said.
Among the pandemic-related impacts on the school board’s 2020/21 budget are a projected loss in facility rental revenue to the tune of $85,000 and a loss of interest revenue of $250,000.
Another huge hit, amounting to nearly $600,000, comes from international student revenues, as the district is now estimating that only 88 international students – rather than the originally budgeted 130 – may be in the district next year.
“We are uncertain as to if the travel restrictions are going to be relaxed for September,” Ketcham said.
The school district has also decided to cancel the summer programs it offers for international students, largely from China and Japan, which would have brought in revenues of about $196,000, offset by costs of $110,000 – for a net loss to the district this summer of about $86,000.
But Ketcham assured the board the picture isn’t as grim as it seems, noting the numbers they’re seeing are “very conservative” and don’t take into account several “efficiencies” that staff will present for the board’s consideration on May 12.
And, she said, there is still the possibility the school district may be able to realize savings for the 2019/20 school year, in the form of reduced costs for teachers on call and casual support staff.
“Optimistically, we’re still hoping that the provincial government will allow districts to keep any savings that we are realizing currently for the 2019/20 school year,” she said.
She noted that, so far, the Ministry of Education hasn’t said it will claw back such savings, but that could always change.
Ketcham assured the board that the combination of further efficiencies and possible savings will mean a better number when the board revisits the budget on May 12.
“We are not yet done. This is not the final budget you will be passing,” she said. “This was a conservative approach to our budget process.”
School board chair Anita Ansari noted the dramatic change in the school district’s financial picture since the board last looked at it eight weeks ago.
But she, too, said there’s reason for optimism.
“I realize, looking at this, this is our most conservative picture after the sky has fallen,” she said. “I am confident in our secretary-treasurer’s analysis; I am confident in the direction our staff is pointing to us for us to get through the crisis that we are experiencing and manage to move into our high school, manage to do all the things we have in play, and come out of it on the other side a better district through these difficult times.”
The board next meets on May 12. Meetings are now being conducted virtually, by Webex, and can be watched by the public. See www.newwestschools.ca for the link.
