HFCRD Board of Trustees Approves 2019/20 Revised Budget
Posted: December 6, 2019
On Wednesday December 4th, the Holy Family Catholic Regional Division (HFCRD) Board of Trustees held their annual Special Board Meeting where the Audited Financial Statements, the 2019/20 Revised Budget, the Annual Education Results Report and the 3-Year Education Plan were approved. With the recent changes to funding in education, HFCRD has worked diligently in recent months to ensure funding reallocations have the least amount of impact on the day-to-day operations of schools or impact on school staffing.
In preparation for the 2019/20 school year, HFCRD planned a fiscally conservative budget that was a reflection of division priorities, a projected enrolment decline across the division and an overall commitment to decrease spending where possible. In October, funding changes and a substantial increase to insurance premiums were announced which reduced HFCRD’s overall budget. Fortunately, HFCRD’s actual enrolment for 2019/20 is 46 students higher than originally projected. Since funding is based on enrolment, this enrolment increase resulted in a large funding boost that was able to cover a large portion of the shortfall.
To cover the remainder of the shortfall, HFCRD made some difficult decisions while continuing to prioritize division staffing and having the least impact on schools and families. As a reflection of these priorities, HFCRD will not be reducing staff at this time, will not be introducing new school fees, and will maintain funding for a 18:1 pupil-teacher ratio across the division. However, HFCRD has made the following fiscal decisions: HFCRD has requested ministerial approval to transfer funds from Board and System Admin Capital Reserves, HFCRD will suspend technology replacements for one year, and lastly, HFCRD will focus on finding efficiencies in various areas like reducing travel.
Moving forward, HFCRD’s priorities remain consistent. We will continue to prioritize the celebration of our Catholic identity through faith teachings. We will continue to commit to small class sizes and student success. Lastly, we will continue to expand Indigenous education in our schools. These priorities are reflected in this budget and will continue to be a priority in our division.
All approved documents will be made available in the documents section of our website as soon as possible.
