June 19, 2024
The Saskatoon Board of Education held its final meeting for the 2023-24 school year yesterday (June 18). The agenda included the review and approval of the Saskatoon Public Schools' budget estimate for the 2024-25 school year.
The March 2024 provincial budget allocated Saskatoon Public Schools (SPS) an operating grant of $281.6 million compared to $261.7 million in 2023-24.
“While a 7.6 per cent increase in funding appears pretty good on paper, it's insufficient to address the pressures we're facing," says Kim Stranden, chair of the SPS board. “Not being funded adequately since 2016 has had a really serious impact and forced us to make expenditure reductions year after year in order to balance the budget."
In the last several years, SPS has seen significant increases in enrolment as well as a growing need for specialized learning supports and English as an Additional Language instruction. In addition to the increased class size and complexity, there have been unavoidable reductions in specialized learning programming and supports, and challenges in addressing aging infrastructure and technology replacement.
“We are always looking at ways we can do more with less," says Stranden. “In recent years we've adjusted school hours to allow buses to double loop, we've introduced new or increased school facility rental fees, we've moved programming to maximize existing spaces. However, the pressure on our system is very real."
“While the 2024-25 budget estimate has been approved, the board is committed to continue working with the provincial government to ensure the provision of a high-quality education to every student."
Media Contact:
