The Delta school board is considering deep cuts to balance a projected $3.46 million budget deficit.
District staff has brought forward a series of measures for trustees' consideration, reductions that will be open for public input at a school board meeting next Tuesday.
A number of factors contributed to the deficit, including a projected enrollment decline of about 320 students, the carry-forward of a $1.7 million shortfall from last year's budget, which had been temporarily covered from reserves, and an increase in employee benefit costs.
The allocation of onetime funds late last year by the Ministry of Education and higher than projected revenues from Delta's International Student Program will help offset the deficit, as well as increased revenues from other areas, but that still leaves just over $1.9 million remaining that will have to be cut from the budget.
The proposed reductions include $50,000 from administration, but not salaried positions, and reducing three janitorial positions.
Other measures likely to draw heated feedback include increasing student-teacher ratios, which is expected to save $250,000, reducing the budget for resources, including books, and cutting almost four fulltime equivalent education assistants that support students with special needs.
In total, 16 full-time jobs are to be eliminated.
The biggest single area to be impacted is the district's bussing program, which will no longer take children to school, other than special needs students.
The district had been grappling with how to deal with a reduction of 47 per cent, or $728,000, in transportation funding from the province.
The district currently provides bussing to approximately 400 students. Of those, 60 per cent live outside district walk limits, including areas such as rural East Delta and Westham Island. The remaining 40 per cent are special needs students that require bussing to attend their neighbourhood school or district programs at other schools.
The Ministry of Education changed the School Act in 2002, making the costs of student transportation a parent responsibility and bussing an optional service. Until 2012, however, the ministry did not alter its funding for student transportation, so the Delta district continued to offer unchanged service.
However, the ministry has changed its funding formula for student transportation, which has resulted in a gradual reduction in Delta's funding from more than $1.5 million to $830,000 by 2014/15.
School board chair Laura Dixon recently told the Optimist the district is trying to make its case that Delta is unique in that it's the largest Lower Mainland district as far as geographical distances, making it a challenge for many students to walk to school.
Noting Delta was the fourth largest hit district when the ministry changed its funding formula for transportation, superintendent Dianne Turner told the Optimist this week the district may have to look for "efficiencies" in the program next year, even though it will strictly be a service for special needs pupils by then.
"Our board has written letters to the ministry asking them to reconsider. The letter we sent to the minister was really to appeal the decision, to say this is going to be a hardship in our district. That letter hasn't been responded to yet, but I have great hope they will see our case between now and when we might have to look for those efficiencies next year," Turner said.
As far as the overall budget picture, secretary-treasurer Joe Strain said that while the government has increased per-pupil funding by $116 per student, that increase won't cover inflation and increased costs such as salaries.
Making matters worse is declining enrollment, which will likely once again be spread throughout the district. He added the enroll-ment is projected to begin leveling out, but not for at least a couple of years.
Tuesday's school board meeting on the budget will take place at the district's administration offices in Ladner starting at 7: 30 p.m. Anyone wanting to comment is asked to sign up by contacting Tracey Nelson at 604-952-5340 or tnelson@ deltasd.bc.ca.
