Next year's budget for the local Catholic school board reflects an increase in enrollment.
The Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board used its final meeting of the school year Monday night to formally sign off on a $259.7-million budget for the 2018-2019 school year.
The spending plan was approved in principle at an earlier meeting and was easily approved with no debate.
For the first time in several years, the board is putting out its budget to allow for an increase in enrollment. An additional 106 students are projected to enroll at the district's 44 schools by the start of the new school year in September.
The list of expenses includes a $1.16-million in-year deficit, which is less than the 1% threshold allowed by the Ontario Ministry of Education to be classified as balanced.
Director of Education Terry Lyons says he's pleased with the way the budget ended up, placing the students first.
"I have a tremendous amount of confidence that our enrollment numbers could be even better as more and more families learn about the wide variety of educational pathways that are available for their children on our board," says Lyons in a statement. "As long as we keep our focus on providing top-quality programming for students, and maintain our commitment to be responsible stewards of our resources, our financial picture will continue to improve."
The budget allows for an increase of $5-million in staff spending. An additional 25 staff members will be added next school year. This includes four teachers, eight educational assistants and other non-classroom positions.
Despite the healthy financial outlook for the Catholic board, additional spending was included to allow for increases in transportation and hydro costs. The board also typically spends more than its budgeted figure on programs for special-needs students.
The completed budget will be submitted this week to the Ministry of Education for final approval.
