LangleyAdvance
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Friday, April 29, 2011
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Audited circulation: 41,100 – 48 pages
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Canadians who haven’t voted yet can head to the polls May 2. Elections Canada staff such as Devon Parsons, a revisions agent, have been helping people cast their ballots and will be on hand Monday to ensure eligible voters can have their say in the federal election. See inside for an array of election coverge.
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Budget deficit still growing
Langley schools will have to cut $5.5 million this year to balance their books.
students. The issue was discussed at the board meeting when trustees approved a plan to cut $5.5 million this year. Some of the savings will come from reduced funding to schools so that their by Heather Colpitts funding matches the provincial hcolpitts@langleyadvance.com formula. Langley high schools will have Trustee Wendy Johnson, a forto make do with a lot less money mer school principal, said schools now that the district has changed asked for what they thought they its funding formula. needed, and assumed the money At the April 26 board meetthey got matched what was ing secretary-treasurer Dave received from government. Green explained that the “We never checked Ministry of Education formulas with ministry used to fund students funding,” she said. based on head count. Changing school-based A student taking a few decision making is one courses was funded at of the areas the district the same level as one is reassessing due to its with a full course-load. budget crunch. COMMENT A few years ago, the The district must ONLINE also Ministry of Education now factor in an changed that funding accounting error in formula to a full-time equivilency the Langley Education Centre model based on course load. (LEC) budget that will cost up to For several years Langley $600,000. School District has had decenGreen did not have encouraging tralized decision-making, giving words about district finances over schools great say over funding the next few years. allocations. “We think we made some diffiWhen the ministry changed its cult decisions this year and last,” formula, the district did not. Green said. The district was actually proBut the coming years mean viding more funds to high schools new cuts must be found until the than it received from the prov$13.5 million deficit is eliminated. incial government for secondary Staff have to still find $184,000
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Langley School District
in cuts to make up a total of $5.5 At the board meeting, staff also million for this year. That figure reviewed enrolments that conincludes the $3.75 million for the tinue to decline in all neighbourdeficit elimination plan, as well hoods except for the Willoughby as increased costs, the LEC error slope. and other cost drivers. The province has a funding Then there are the formula for declining cuts approved that the enrolment. district has to reconFor every student sider. The district had a district loses, the hoped to save by not province reduces funds having clerical staff by $6,784 but the disfill-in on the first day a trict only saves about staff member is ill but $3,500. The district still schools told adminisends up spending about tration that they are $3,200 per lost student already doing that. to cover the costs for The district found the remaining students Wendy Johnson savings when it (utilities, staffing, supLangley school trustee renegotiated its conplies, etc). tract with the provincial Auditor If a district has a drop of five General’s office. The office, conper cent or more in a year, it tracted to provide audit services receives funding for the first year in light of the district’s financial to help deal with the decline. If trouble, was charging $45,000. student numbers fall between one That’s been reduced by $5,000. and four per cent, a district ends The district has tried to make up losing more money. If these cuts with the least impact on incremental declines happen classrooms but that’s not going year upon year, the district loss to be an option in the future, one is cumulative. Green said this trustee said. slow decline underlies the finan“We keep asking staff to go cial problems many districts are back to the well,” commented facing and will continue to face trustee Stacey Cody. in the coming years. The board did look at school “As a district, it will be a long closures but opted not to shut time before we even get back, if any doors. She said there are no we ever get back, to a level we were at [in years past],” Green guarantees closures won’t come said of enrolment. up again in the next few years.