Greater St. Albert Catholic Regional Division (GSACRD) will dip into the red this year after approving its 2010/11 budget, which shows an estimated operational deficit of $658,501.
That figure is the difference between estimated revenues of $66,626,181 and estimated expenditures of $67,284,682.
In spite of the deficit, the division is projecting $1,064,203 is unrestricted net assets for Aug. 31, 2011.
Secretary-treasurer Deb Schlag said a change in class size funding by the province was the primary reason for the operational deficit.
In the past, she said school boards have received a lump sum amount but this year the province changed their funding formula to a “per student” amount. The result was a loss of $1.6 million from division coffers.
In 2010/11, school boards were also faced with a mandatory 2.9 per cent increase in teacher’s salaries. Before some good news arrived over the summer, school boards were told by Alberta Education that staffing levels had to be more or less maintained.
“In order to do that, that means nothing had to change from last year. That’s very difficult for a board that’s facing a $1.6 million cut,” said Schlag.
In July, Education Minister Dave Hancock announced that the province would cover the mandatory salary increase. With the funding announcement, the board cut its deficit down to $658,000, said Schlag.
“We had sufficient reserves to cover that on a one-time basis. It’s certainly nothing that we can sustain over time,” she said.
School boards, she said, were asked by the minister to dip into reserves to maintain funding in 2010/11. School boards that still had money in their reserves afterwards didn’t have to submit their budgets until the end of November.
“That would allow for boards to have the most accurate information in terms of staffing, enrolment and costs. So our budget this year is actually based on our September payroll, on our September numbers,” Schlag said.
“It’s a fairly accurate budget and we’ll do our best to stay within it but it certainly isn’t something that we can do from year to year to year,” she said.
Superintendent David Keohane said the division is making the best of what they can with the money they are receiving.
“We’re very proud that last year was a year of improved learning to an already high achieving school division,” he said of the division’s Annual Education Report.
On Monday, Schlag also discussed the board’s audited financial statements for the year ending August 31, 2010.
The board saw operating expenditures of $68,482,487 and operating revenues of $68,190,764, which resulted in a $291,723 deficit.
According to Schlag, the bulk of that stems from an over-expenditure in operations and maintenance, one area for which school boards did not receive additional funding from the province.
The division ended the year with approximately $1.3 million in reserves, down slightly from the $1.4 million they had in reserves at the start of the year.
