...and so does Halton Catholic board

...and so does Halton Catholic board

HOWARD MOZELL Special to The IFP The Halton Catholic District School Board has approved its budget estimates for 2006/2007. At last week's board meeting, trustees voted in favour of the $222 million submission to the Ministry of Education. The operating expenditure estimates of $205.4 million and capital expenditures of $16.6 million have been matched with revenue projections to produce a balanced budget for the next academic year. Superintendent of Business Services and Treasurer Paul McMahon characterized it as a "status quo, compliance budget" and one that saw its fair share of challenges, a sentiment with which Director of Education Lou Piovesan agrees. "In order to achieve a balanced 2006/2007 budget it was necessary to use the remainder of the monies in the Special Education and Classroom Reserve Funds," said Piovesan. "However, despite the ongoing budget challenges, we were able to achieve a balanced budget without making cuts in any of the Board's operational areas." The overall increase in enrolment projected by the Board for the 2006/2007 school year and the staffing requirements are reflected in the budget, which provides for an increase in classroom spending of approximately 4.9 per cent. In addition this year, the province has recognized the variance between the amounts set in the funding allocation and the actual expenses of school boards across Ontario, and has taken a LOU first step towards PIOVESAN realigning the two. Another important aspect of this budget is the continuation of the Primary Class Size Reduction initiative, now in its third year. This has resulted in approximately $1.3 million in additional funding for 2006/2007, which is being allocated to meet the Ministry's requirement to reduce the average class size for the primary grades (Junior Kindergarten to Grade 3) down to a ratio of 20:1 for the 2007/2008 school year. In addition, the Ministry has recognized the escalating increase in utilities and school operation costs and has provided additional grant funding to address these needs. However, this additional funding is not sufficient to match the increased costs of utilities actually experienced by the Board. With such future challenges in store, McMahon cautioned that despite balancing the budget this time around, the Board will be "looking at a tight year" for 2007/2008-- the final year of the four-year teacher salary framework agreements.