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LCSD approves 2021/22 budget

Lakeland Catholic School Division approves their 2021/22 school year budget
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BONNYVILLE – Lakeland Catholic School Division (LCSD) is anticipating to have a surplus for the 2021/22 school year.   

The board of trustees approved the division’s budget for the next school year during their May 26 meeting, which included total revenues expected to be at $38,310,973 and expenses to be around $38,246,032. That results in a surplus of just under $70,000 for LCSD.   

The budget estimates enrolment will be at 2,661 for the 2021/22 school year.    

When breaking down the numbers, LCSD secretary-treasurer Tessa Hetu said the division was expecting students to be back in classrooms full-time starting in the fall.   

“We’re anticipating a fairly normal return to learning in the fall with the vaccines rolling out,” she told the trustees.   

In order to determine their enrolment for next year, the division rolled their current grade numbers up to the next grade and assumed students who left LCSD for homeschooling due to the coronavirus pandemic would return for in-person learning. Another factor was Light of Christ School in Lac La Biche offering another grade level in the fall.    

LCSD expects to receive roughly $32 million from the Government of Alberta and about $776,000 from the federal government. School fees are sitting around $575,300 and fundraising is anticipated to be at $100,000 for the year.   

The dollars put towards Pre-Kindergarten instruction is sitting at $365,555, while Kindergarten to Grade 12 had a price tag of $29.2 million.    

“That would include our Program Unit Funding (PUF) students in Kindergarten to Grade 12 and we’re looking at an overall surplus of about $111,000 for that program in that specific area,” detailed Hetu.   

Operations and maintenance are at $4.36 million for the 2021/22 school year. Hetu noted that the department was looking at a deficit of roughly $202,000.    

“The main reason for that is the fairly significant increase that we have experienced in insurance, and we’re projecting those to continue on at least at the level that we have this year, as well as increases to utilities with the carbon tax and various increases there.”   

Transportation services were sitting at $2.7 million.   

LCSD’s system administration was at $1.6 million and expenses in that department are expected to be just under $1.5 million, which meant there is a surplus of roughly $162,000, Hetu stated.    

“This is a targeted grant where you can’t spend more on it for system administrations, but funds from that grant can be spent in other areas,” she explained. “We will be using that to offset (other deficits). For example, the deficit in operations and maintenance.”  

Robynne Henry, Bonnyville Nouvelle 

 

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