Rocky View Schools (RVS) will see a budget increase for the 2015/16 year, climbing to an estimated $236M.
The 2014/15 budget was $224M.
These additional funds will be allocated to ‘direct classroom instruction inclusive education, specialized services for students with complex needs and balanced literacy, numeracy and 21st Century skills’, as per a June 25 media release.
The breakdown works out to 78.72 per cent toward instruction; 11.90 per cent toward plant operations and maintenance; 6.17 per cent to transportation; and 3.16 per cent to governance and administration.
“Next year we will add over 33 new teachers to elementary and middle schools and little more than seven new teachers in our high schools,” said board chair Colleen Munro in the media release.
“We also were able to increase inclusive education funding by 25 per cent, giving schools the ability to enhance services offered by learning support teachers or assistants and the jurisdiction the opportunity to establish four high school specialized programs.”
According to Angela Spanier, RVS director of communications, the increase was driven by growth.
Due to the late announcement (normally budget is set by May) human resources will be hiring all summer.
Darrell Couture, associate superintendant of business and operations for RVS said that moving forward, the jurisdiction would face challenges with the costs imposed by the opening of three new schools in the fall of 2016 (including RancheView School in Cochrane) and a funding shortfall for transportation.
Due to inflation, contractor costs for bussing are rising $400,000 and new routes have been added to accommodate riders ineligible for grant funding.
The costs for the coming year will be partially offset by the $25/student/year increase in bussing fees, as well as the triple bussing in Airdrie set for the 2016/17 school year.
The RVS board approved new attendance areas at their June 25 for both the Town of Cochrane and the City of Airdrie.
The decision followed a three-part public engagement consultation process, which began earlier this spring.
“Although not everyone is happy with the new boundaries, the feedback we received certainly influenced our decision and helped us to ensure all schools operate more closely to their capacities — in both the short and long term,” said Munro in the June 25 release.
