School board forecasting $400,000 budget deficit

By Tina Comeau

THE VANGUARD

NovaNewsNow.com

As its fiscal year was drawing to a close, a deficit of approximately $400,000 was being forecasted for the Tri-County Regional School Board. “We’re hoping it’s not going to come in that high,” Jerome Tanner, the board’s director of finance, said at the board’s March 25 finance committee meeting.

But, he said, the indication is that this is where the deficit is going to fall.

School board superintendent Phil Landry said there are, in his opinion, two major factors contributing to the forecasted deficit. “One would be the substitute costs overall, not only of teachers, but janitors, bus drivers, secretaries and PSAs (program support assistants),” he said.

The other factor is oil and fuel costs.

Recently the board suggested its deficit in this area could be around $230,000, although it was indicated at the finance committee meeting it won’t be that high.

Still, Tanner said it is going to be a “major hit” for the board. He said near the end of February the deficit was running around $150,000. It was expected that when March is factored in it could be closer to $200,000. “Government has been really good in the past when boards have had deficits in that area,” Landry said, claiming that this year that support isn’t there.

The school board is in the process of starting to draft its budget for the next fiscal year, but a hold-up in the process will be having to wait for the provincial government to hand down its own budget. Until then the board won’t know how much funding to expect from the education department.

Landry says the board knows there will likely be clawbacks due to declining student enrolment and teacher retirements, but whether there will be any extra funding for the board is unknown.

Board vice-chair Ron Hines said if there is anything positive about the board’s forecasted deficit it’s this, “We’ve been telling the government for…years we’re under-funded. This proves it.”

Meanwhile the board’s director of operations, Steven Stoddart, said a directive went out recently to staff in his department that they make essential purchases only for the remainder of the fiscal year.