By Tina Comeau

THE VANGUARD

NovaNewsNow.com

In the face of a deficit, the Tri-County Regional School Board has found around $96,000 to apply to its budget shortfall.

A couple of months back the school board had been projecting a deficit of around $400,000, although an exact figure is still being worked out as the board works to finalize its budget for the upcoming year.

The $96,000 is excess funding that the board had in its pre-primary pilot budget.

Originally the board had approved a motion in early March that any remaining funds in the pre-primary budget be held in reserve for pre-primary pilots for the 2008/09 school year. The board made the motion shortly after the province announced that it was discontinuing the pre-primary program it had been piloting in 19 schools, including Carleton Consolidated School and Digby Neck elementary. The province cancelled the program because it is reallocating its funding towards the change in date for Grade Primary registrations that takes affect this fall.

But at the time the school board was unsure whether it would be able to continue the programs at these schools in a same or different form.

It was also under the impression that because the funding had been specifically targeted for pre-primary, the money could not be used elsewhere.

But at the school board’s May 6 meeting there were two new pieces of information brought forward. Education Minister Karen Casey sent a letter to the board saying that the province has not given up entirely on the search for a creative way to continue to deliver the pre-primary program in the future. To that end, department staff has been engaged in conversations with the Department of Community Services.

The second piece of information came from superintendent Phil Landry who informed board members that the province had given permission for boards to use any surpluses they might have in areas of targeted funding.

“Basically it was indicated we could use the money to offset any potential deficit we might have, or to hire teachers,” said Landry.

Higher fuel and oil costs and substitute costs are two factors that have pushed the school board into a deficit position.

Board member Joan Brewer said it would be irresponsible of the board not to apply the surplus targeted funding to the deficit “and take that off of all the backs of our students,” rather than to continue to set it aside for students who are not in the school system.

The other board members agreed with that position in light of the letter from Minister Casey, and since school boards’ options for dealing with deficits are to make cuts in other areas.