Holy Spirit Catholic School Division board office (Photo courtesy Holy Spirit Catholic School Division)

By David Opinko

Holy Spirit approves budget with $1.8-million shortfall, 21 layoffs

Jun 5, 2020 | 6:00 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – It is a tough year for school boards across Alberta, and the Holy Spirit Catholic School Division is no exception.

They approved their 2020/2021 operating budget last week that has a shortfall of $1.8-million.

“We’ve been faced with a difficult budget this year. We’re certainly not alone in the province on this front,” says Board Chair Judy Lane. “I don’t think there is a single school division that isn’t being faced with serious financial challenges.”

The new budget has revenues and allocations of $63.5-million, marking a decrease of $200,000 from the previous year. This is despite Holy Spirit expecting to have an additional 130 students in the coming term.

With anticipated expenditures of $64.4-million, Lane says they will have to use $889,446 from their reserves to offset that.

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She adds that the province’s funding commitment is not sufficient to absorb wage increases “due to grid movement for teachers and support staff.”

“Nor will this cover increases to non-wage costs such as insurance, utilities, software licensing and hardware, as well as the unknown costs anticipated from school re-entry after the COVID-19 global pandemic.”

Superintendent Ken Sampson says they have done everything they can to mitigate layoffs, but were not able to avoid it entirely.

“The division’s teaching staff will not face a reduction, even though 130 additional students are expected. Instead, 21 positions have been cut in other areas; over 20% of which will come from the division’s Central Office.”

The full report on the 2020/2021 Holy Spirit Operating Budget can be found here.