With a $739,393 surplus as of Aug. 31, it was a "stable year" for the St. Albert Protestant Schools, said secretary-treasurer Michael Brenneis.
During the board's regular meeting on Wednesday, he presented highlights from the 2009-10 financial audit, which was done by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The board's total expenses were $63.8 million for 2009-10, compared to $62 million the previous year. About 57 per cent of that figure is used to pay for salaries and benefits.
Revenue came in at $64.6 million million, up from $62.3 million the year prior.
While the board's unrestricted net assets decreased to $739,393 from $922,520 in 2009, Brenneis said there is no concern. "It is still a healthy number for our jurisdiction."
He said the division was "a little bit beat up," in terms of their investment income, due to lower interest rates in the last 12 months.
The division saw $69,490 in investment income in 2010, compared to $137,554 last year. In 2008, the board had nearly $400,000 in investment income.
The division also posted a $2.9 million net transfer to operating reserves but Brenneis said this is a procedural figure. Regardless of whether schools finish with a surplus or a deficit, he said each school is allowed to carry that amount forward as an operating reserve.
"If a school finishes with a $100,000 surplus, it goes into the reserve on Aug. 31 and comes out of the reserve on Sept. 1 and it keeps rolling," he said.
While electricity costs are similar to last year, Brenneis suggested that consumption could increase down the road, as schools continue to introduce more technology into classrooms.
For 2009-10, the board reported $29.5 million in total capital assets, up slightly from $28.7 million last year.
Brenneis said the division added seven new modules in 2010 and that, overall, total assets were on par with 2009.
Under liabilities, the board reported $855,011 in supported long-term debt, a figure covered by the province.
The board also posted $38,000 in unsupported long-term debt, money used by schools to purchase a number of photocopiers which will be paid for over the next two years, said Brenneis.
Base funding up
Earlier this year, Alberta Education announced a 2.92 per cent increase in base student funding and the class size initiative.
The amount that school boards receive per student rose to $6,068 in 2010 from $5,697 last yea. The new figure helped the Protestant board cover the cost of a mandatory teacher wage increase.
However, Brenneis said school boards saw no increases in funding for plant operations and maintenance or to support severely disabled students.
"Those are two significant areas that we're concerned about," said Brenneis.
The funding increase amounted to $1 million extra each for both St. Albert's Protestant and Catholic school boards.
