The English-Catholic school board in Windsor-Essex has officially approved $282-million in funding for the upcoming school year.
During its board meeting on June 14, the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board (WECDSB) agreed to a balanced budget of $282.4-million to be used for the 2022-2023 academic year. The budget was tabled for one week, and brought back to the trustees on Tuesday, when it was subsequently approved.
"Every year we consult closely with our community, and our administration develops a budget based on what our constituents identify as their main concerns for our students," Board Chair Fulvio Valentinis said in a release. "This year we heard from more than 4,700 people who identified student learning in the areas of reading writing and math, mental health, and students with special needs as their top priorities. We think this budget delivers on all of those concerns," Valentinis said.
Highlights within the budget include:
• $2.09-million from the Ontario Supports for Students Fund.
• $3.19-million from the COVID-19 Learning Recovery Fund to support temporary additional teachers, Early Childhood Educators, Education Assistants and other education workers to address learning recovery.
• $448,847 from the Student Mental Health Investment.
• $193,741 from the Local Special Education Priorities to support students with special education needs.
• $78,460 to increase the Special Equipment Per-Pupil Amount to add more assistive technology for students with special education needs.
The budget is based on a projected enrolment of over 20,000 students in 2022-23, that's an increase of 225 students compared to the estimates for the previous school year.
"With approximately two-thirds of education funding based on enrolment, the 2022-23 increase in enrolment equates to approximately $1.6-million in additional grant revenue for the board, for a total of $281.6-million," a statement from the WECDSB read.
The school board said the remainder of the budget's expenses not funded through grants or other revenue sources will be funded through the board's accumulated surplus.
*Correction: A version of this story published on June, 14, 2022 said the budget had been approved. The Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board then clarified the final approval would come at the trustees' next meeting on June 21, 2022.
