Upper Grand passes balanced 2014-15 budget
MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
June 25, 2014
GUELPH, Ontario – A balanced budget with an operating total of $351,129,761 was approved by the trustees of the Upper Grand District School Board on June 24, 2014.
In remarks about the budget made on June 2 at the Budget information meeting, Board as Budget Committee Chair, Marty Fairbairn thanked the Finance Department including Superintendent Janice Wright, and Budget Chief Sheila Parker for their work.
“All the good things are in this budget, the International students market is a booming business, an environmental lead position is added, the introduction of the pre-IB program in September for grade 9 students is supported and there is more.”
“We have included additions to our educational assistant complement and special education resource teachers,” he said.
Martha Rogers, Director of Education, also speaking earlier in the month noted that “In my view this is a good news budget for our schools and students. It is both a compliant and balanced budget.”
“Thanks go to all senior staff for holding the line where required, reducing where appropriate and for their vision of where to increase our supports for students and to increase operation efficiency.”
The capital budget of the board is estimated at $42,378,093.
Features of the 2014-15 Board Budget
- An increase in Educational Assistants and Special Education Teachers
- Supports for elementary students, specifically in grade 7 and 8, with a focus on math through an increase of one instructional coach and 2.1 special education teachers
- Continued funding for parents and community partners programs Time2Read and Read4Success
- Funding to assist individual children who cannot afford to participate in programs or activities
- Funding for transporting rural students to sports events, and those teams and individual students who go to provincial or international competitions
- Increased funding for professional development for teachers as well as for support staff to introduce an electronic document management system
- Increases in elementary teachers due to Full Day Kindergarten (FDK), and teachers and teacher librarians, new Principals, custodians and office coordinators for four new elementary schools
- CYC position added to the Youth Options Program (suspension/expulsion program)
- Completion of the 2013-14 Technology Refresh Program
- Funding support for the IB Program and administrative support for the International Students Program
- Decreases in software licenses due to virtualization of services
- Continuation of the secondary program for Mennonite students at Centre Peel Public School
- Additional funds for Special Education due to the first year of the four-year planned redistribution of Funding for High Needs Amount, reducing the current overspending of the board on Special Education
- Environmental Sustainability Lead position and more money for energy management, and the implementation of the Environmental Education and Management plan due to increased revenues from solar panels on elementary schools
- A planned contingency built into the budget that may be released to the system later in the year once revenues and expenditures are seen to be performing as expected
For more information:
Maggie McFadzen, Communications Officer
519-822-4420 ext.725
[email protected]
Mark Weidmark, Administrative Officer – Communications
519-822-4420 ext.544
[email protected]
Categories: Media Releases