The Maple Ridge – Pitt Meadows Board of Education welcomes yesterday’s provincial funding announcement that $25 million in administrative savings is being redirected to services for students for the 2016/17 school year.
We would like to acknowledge the importance of the advocacy work undertaken both by our parent community, by our board, and boards around the province. Together we have given our students a strong voice, and yesterday’s announcement shows that this voice was heard at the provincial level. Thank you.
Of the $25 million being restored province-wide, the Maple Ridge – Pitt Meadows School District will receive just under $632,000. While this one-time amount represents only a small fraction of the cost pressures that our board has had to address over the past few years, it is an encouraging move in the right direction. In making this decision to invest in public education, the province has acknowledged both that this investment is needed and that it is valuable. We hope this investment in public education will continue so that we can continue to deliver the world-class education our children deserve.
As required by law, on April 27, 2016, the board adopted a balanced budget for 2016/17. All decisions made were guided by the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows school district vision and core values, and were based on the information available, research, and consultation.
In light of yesterday’s announcement, our board will have to consider what amendments to make to the 2016/17 budget. We received a great deal of feedback about funding priorities during our budget process, and will now once again carefully review that feedback as we consider how best to allocate these one-time funds. The board will consider the impact of this funding announcement on the 2016/17 budget at our June 15, 2016 public board meeting.
The Maple Ridge – Pitt Meadows Board of Education will make its final decision before the end of June; the decision will be posted to the school district website at http://www.sd42.ca.