The Northern Lights Public School division says a little tweaking was needed to make sure their budget stayed balanced this school year. The division released an email to media Thursday outlying what they would be doing to make up a $2.5 million shortfall in their books.
The group says tactics, like cutting spending by 6% and asking schools who may have reserves to put some cash towards the problem, will help balance the books.
The shortfall is being blamed on a few reasons including a $1.5 million dollar increase in the division’s insurance premiums along with UCP changes in funding.
“Our goal was to balance the budget without drastically affecting the services offered to students in our classrooms or passing costs on to parents without adequate time for consultation,” said Board Chair Arlene Hrynyk. “We are confident with the plan that has been developed that the direct impact on students will be minimal this year and we are committed to consulting with stakeholders when appropriate as we look at changes that may need to occur going forward.”
The school board says the impact on direct services to students and staffing levels is expected to be minimal.