School board dips into reserves to balance budget

News Release
RRDSB

(August 29, 2006) - In spite of a substantial reduction in expected funding from the Ministry of Education, the Rainy River District School Board has approved the 2006/07 Budget for $37,711,992. The reduction in Ministry funding is requiring the Board to draw over $1.1 million from classroom and working fund reserves to balance the budget. Prior to reserve withdrawal, the 2006/07 budget, was $2.2 million less than 2005/06 budget. The reduction is a result of declining enrolment as well as the realignment within the funding model for 2006/07. Due to the delay of the funding announcement, the Board had to reduce its budget from non-salaried costs.
Only twelve Boards in Ontario saw decreased operating funding based on Ministry funding projections and all twelve Boards were northern boards. The Rainy River District School Board will see at least a $1 million funding reduction for the Board due to the changes in the Funding Model.
New and unexpected to the 2006/07 Grants for Student Needs was the Ministry’s realignment of funding to provide a new school foundation grant and salary funding enhancements. These changes were financed by flat percentage rate reductions to the geographic circumstances grant and the demographic component of the learning opportunity grant of 8% and 33.7% respectively on all school boards. The Northern Boards receive a higher portion of their funding from such grants in prior years and as a result of the change saw more significant reductions than other boards.
In June, when the Ministry of Education first announced the 2006/07 funding projections, the Northern Boards joined in a collaborative effort to analyze the rationale behind the funding reductions. Joint meetings and teleconferences of the sixteen Northern Boards culminated in correspondence and teleconference between the Boards and Ministry staff. There are continued discussions to discuss the effect of funding reductions to northern boards in the next few years, as Boards recognize that balancing from reserves cannot be sustained.
Dan Belluz, Trustee, expressed concern, “Drawing from reserves for this budget is a band-aid solution. I am disappointed in how the unexpected changes to the funding model have reduced our grants.”
Board Chair, Ron McAlister states, “The overriding concern of our Board throughout this unfortunate process has been, as always, the maintenance of program stability for our students. This has been accomplished through the withdrawal of $1.1 million from our reserves. Not only was it ill timed, as we had already committed 76% of our anticipated funding to staffing, but the slashing of the geographic circumstance grant left us in the unenviable position of cutting the $1.1 million from 24% of our budget. We continue to discuss this issue with the Ministry in the hopes that we can sustain the longer term future for our students.”