The Waterloo Region District School Board has brought its budget back into balance – but it took the closure of two schools and parent-angering changes to bell times to get there.
Trustees were presented Monday night with a balanced budget.
That’s a big change from 2013, when the initial budget showed a deficit of $5.1 million – one that was only whittled down to $4.6 million by the time all was said and done.
The deficit was covered by dipping into reserve funds, something the board didn’t want to do for a second straight year.
“We’ve had to make some really tough decisions,” said board chair Ted Martin.
Those decisions – all of which were announced over the course of the past school year – included shuttering Dickson Public School in Cambridge and Three Bridges School near St. Jacobs.
Last fall, trustees voted to change bell times at 73 of its 118 elementary and high schools.
The changes are expected to save the board about $1 million per year in transportation costs. They were passed over the objections of parents concerned about the effects of the changes on their children and families.
Christine Rose, a parent at Bridgeport Public School, spoke to trustees Monday, reiterating her concerns about moving Bridgeport’s opening bell time to 9:45 a.m.
“It’s too late. Their learning starts too late to benefit them,” she said.
The WRDSB will also see a decline of $5 million in provincial funding next year, due to lower enrollment numbers.
Trustees will hear from other members of the public on Wednesday, and will finalize the budget later this month.
