The board of trustees for the St. Clair Catholic District School Board has passed a budget of $122,534,498 for the upcoming school year.
Associate Director of Corporate Services and Treasurer Amy Janssens said they took a collaborative approach to building the budget, with a specific focus on health and safety.
"We went out to principals, we went out to other stakeholders, we spoke to our board of trustees and the senior team came up with a budget that really put a focus on coming back in September in a safe way," said Janssens. "We can say that means many things but for us it meant learning recovery for the students and making sure that they are well upon entering in September."
The estimated budget invests in priority areas outlined in the 2021-2022 action plan such as special education, learning, mental health, risk management, and technology.
In order to have proper mental health support in place, Janssens said a three-year mental health and addictions strategy is currently being developed.
"Specifically, they're really listening to the students' voices. It's not created yet," she said. "It's being built based on a survey that was sent out just recently and with lots of input from our community."
Another priority area outlined in the action plan is supporting at-risk students for graduation. Janssens said that is something the school board has always tried to accomplish but more will be done for the upcoming school year.
"We've added more resources into our secondary schools to make sure that we re-engage those students who over the course of the pandemic, may have disengaged from us for various reasons," she said.
Janssens said the budget estimate will be submitted to the Ministry of Education for review.
Over the summer, plans will be made for the return to school and a review of the budget will be done in November and December. Janssens said some items may need to be adjusted depending on the needs of students and staff.
"It's like trying to have a crystal ball in our hands when we're months ahead of school start-up," she said. "We don't know what September will look like, we don't know many students might choose remote learning versus coming back into our buildings. We also don't know how people will decide to receive vaccinations in our region and how that might affect entry."
The budget includes $2.4 million in COVID-19 support, of which $1.6 million is from the Ministry of Education. The budget also includes a $1.08 million deficit for using the school board's accumulated surplus, according to a media release.
