At its May 29, 2024 Public Board Meeting, the Board of Trustees approved Edmonton Catholic Schools' 2024-2025 Division Operating Budget. The budget forecasts total revenues of $594.7 million and expenditures of $608.9 million, resulting in a $14.2 million Operating Deficit.
The 2024-2025 Division Operating Budget will support an expected enrolment of 50,476 students.
Budget Highlights:
- The total number of students for the 2024-2025 school year is forecast to increase by 5.7%, with growth expected across most grades.
- 79% of the budget is directed to instruction and supporting students in the classroom, while the remaining funds are spent on maintaining schools, providing student transportation, system administration, and external services.
- ECSD has allocated 2.6% for system administration, which remains below Alberta Education's ceiling of 3.2% for system administration expenditures.
- The Division will continue to fund schools based on enrolment and provide additional funding allocations for schools based on needs.
- ECSD students will continue to have a broad spectrum of program choices to meet their diverse interests and create excellent Catholic educational opportunities.
- ECSD is investing an additional $2.5 million over and above what is provided by the Government of Alberta to support the implementation of updated curriculums for Grades 4-6 Science and French Immersion. Select classrooms will also pilot the draft K-6 Social Studies curriculum in September 2024.
- There is no change in bus pass fees for the 2024-2025 school year.
This is ECSD's fifth budget based on Alberta Education's Weighted Moving Average (WMA) funding model, which was first announced in February 2020.
"We anticipate the equivalent of approximately 2,000 students will be unfunded in the 2024-2025 school year," said Board Chair Sandra Palazzo. "Once again, this has been a challenging year for us due to the limitations of the WMA funding model. It does not create the stability and predictability intended for Boards like ours that are experiencing exceptional growth. We will continue to share this message with the province."
For 2024-2025, the Division is preparing to draw down the Accumulated Surplus from Operations (ASO) by $12.2 million to support student needs. The Division has consistently worked to identify efficiencies wherever possible to ensure that it delivers quality Catholic education while addressing a difficult landscape.
"Kindergarten with Full-Day Programming and 100 Voices (Pre-Kindergarten) are not part of the K-12 funding model. In the past, our Division has been able to stretch our funding to provide these early interventions for our youngest learners. We have had to make some difficult decisions in preparing this budget. This includes reducing the number of locations offering Kindergarten with Full-Day Programming and 100 Voices," explained Chief Superintendent Lynnette Anderson.
"We have had to rely on our Accumulated Surplus from Operations in order to balance our budget for the past few years. This is not sustainable, but it is necessary to accommodate enrolment growth, support inclusive education, manage inflation, and implement the new curriculum," added Board Chair Palazzo.
The approved 2024-2025 Division Budget will now be sent to Alberta Education.
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