Northern Lights Public Schools (NLPS) is anticipating a $1.2-million deficit for the 2018/19 school year.
“We have a revenue of $84.2-million, expenditures of $85.4-million, so we see a net loss of $1.2-million from operations,” explained secretary-treasurer Paula Elock.
The budget for the upcoming school year was presented to the NLPS board of trustees during their May 30 meeting, when it was approved prior to be submitted to the province.
The numbers show a drop in revenue over a three-year span, going from $87.7-million in 2016/17 to approximately $86-million projected for the current year. The approved revenue for 2018/19 dropped slightly again, to $84.2-million.
“We’re showing a loss in revenue over the prior years. Some of that is related to enrolment. We’re anticipating our enrolment will be down 78 students,” said Elock, noting the early planning has the division sitting at 5,899 students in total next year.
“Keep in mind, this time of year, when schools are projecting their ECS (early childhood services) enrolment, they’re usually a little hesitant on these numbers. It may come up from there.”
The majority of NLPS’ revenue is generated from one source, with $77-million coming in from the Government of Alberta. The remaining dollars are from various areas, such as enrolment, the sales of supplies, extracurricular programs, facility rentals, and gifts and donations. Just under $5-million in reserves will also be available for spending going into 2018/19.
On the expenses side, that number has also seen a decline. In 2016/17, there were just under $92-million in expenditures. For the current school year, they’ve projected just under $90-million, with a $4-million deficit. However, Elock stressed those figures have since been revised, as they’re expecting the deficit to come in at about half of that.
Heading into next year, the approved budget includes $85.4-million in spending, with a $1.2-million deficit.
From the revenue that NLPS brings in, it’s allocated out to different departments including instruction and support, transportation, maintenance, board and system, and each school site.
Under instruction and support is centrally authorized spending, which has gone from $1.38-million in 2010/11 to $3.99-million for 2017/18 due to the fact it now encompasses the Classroom Improvement Fund, human resources pool, and line items like maternity leave, personal days, and subs over three days.
Instructional support comes in at $1.7-million for the upcoming school year, and other instructional programs is budgeted for $2.29-million in spending in 2018/19, down from $2.5-million this current year and $3.69-million the year prior.
“This is one where we often see external sources of revenue to fund programs. It’s gone up and down depending on that revenue,” said Elock. “We’ve got some programs in there like dual credit, trades exposure, the nutrition program, but there’s also been programs that have gone away.”
For inclusive education, the division plans to spend approximately $1.1-million in 2018/19. Their funding for that department comes in at $1.27-million, leaving $173,000 in reserves.
The budget for technology has increased slightly for the upcoming year to just under $900,000.
Both transportation and maintenance will be operating at a loss once again in 2018/19.
By the end of next year, NLPS is projecting a $300,000 deficit in operations for maintenance. The total budget in that department is set at $12.4-million, down from $12.79-million this year. As was done in prior years, $700,000 will be transferred to maintenance from instructional funds, however they will no longer be adding $200,000 from inclusive education.
“In plant operations and maintenance, we’ve made a significant cut to their budget for next year. We’ve cut the $200,000, plus we’re operating on less. We’re trying to trim that budget as best we can because it’s operating at a deficit and we’ll be pulling money from instruction to do that,” Elock told the board.
Approximately $5.8-million is allocated for transportation, on par with the current year’s budget, but also still in a deficit.
The revenue allocated to schools themselves, for the most part, closely corresponds with each schools’ enrolment numbers. In total, just under $51-million in school revenue allocations is set for 2018/19.
“When looking at expenses by function, ECS and Grade 1 to 12, so Kindergarten through to Grade 12, it’s about $63 million in expenditures for next year,” Elock summarized. “Plant, operations, and maintenance is about $12.4-million, transportation $5.8-million, administration is at $3.1 million, and external services just under $1 million.”
To assist with priorities for NLPS that aren’t covered through Alberta Education, the division is projecting to have $1.7-million in reserves for board and system as of the end of the 2018/19 school year. In instruction and external services, they’re projecting reserves of $2.15-million, which could be used for purchases that enhance programming at sites.
