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www.oakvillebeaver.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, August 5, 2010 · 10 Catholic board has balanced budget for September Trustees with the Halton Catholic District School Board are enjoying a summer break knowing they have approved a balanced budget for the 2010-11 school year. At a special board meeting -- the final gathering of trustees and senior administrators for the 2009-10 school year -- trustees approved an estimated operating budget of $261.8 million for 2010-11. That's approximately a four per cent increase over the 2009-10 operating budget. The board anticipates a 0.8 per cent increase in enrolment in 2010-11 with 17,856 elementary pupils and 9,819 secondary students. "Despite ongoing budget challenges, we were able to achieve a balanced budget without cuts in any of the board's programs or services," said Director of Education Michael Pautler. "This budget reflects very modest staff increases due to a small increase in enrolment. In order to introduce new initiatives, departments tightened budget lines." Eighty-five per cent of the school board budget is spent on wages and benefits for unionized and non-union employees. The remaining 15 per cent pays for things like classroom resources, student transportation and school operations like utilities, maintenance, custodian work and school supplies. The Halton Catholic board has budgeted for 1,078 fulltime-equivalent (FTE) elementary teachers and 676 FTE high school teachers. Non-teaching staff in 201011 is projected to be 968 FTEs. Among those positions are educational assistants, custodians, principals, vice-principals, secretaries, senior administrators, chaplains and elected trustees. New initiatives for the 201011 Halton Catholic board school year are: · Two new religion and family life itinerant teachers · Three new special education resource teachers (SERT) · Implementation of the first phase of the Ministry's Early Learning Program -- allday kindergarten for four and five year olds · Transportation for French immersion students · Ongoing faith formation initiatives for students and staff, as well as staff development initiatives · Expansion of the Thomas Merton Secondary School Continuing Education Program in Oakville · Expansion and alteration of the Assumption S.S. special education area · Implementation of the first phase of the board's fiveyear Strategic Plan. The 2010-11 budget year marks the first year that school boards need to include their capital (building) assets in their budgets using the Public Sector Accounting Standards (PSAB) format, due to the Ministry of Education's amendments to the financial accountability sections of the Education Act in Bill 218. As a result of these changes, the deadline for budget submissions to the ministry was deferred to July 30. Under the new governmentdirected PSAB accounting rules, the Halton Catholic board's operating budget for 2010-11 is estimated to be $300.9 million, to be updated when the 2010-11 budget estimates are submitted to the ministry. The PSAB budget for capital costs is expected to be approved by the board at the first 201011 school year meeting of trustees on Tuesday, Sept. 7. In order to complete budget estimates by the end of the current school year for presentation to the board of trustees, calculations were prepared using the "old" method of reporting to the ministry. School boards are still responsible for setting their budgets. There are restrictions set by the ministry on how school boards may use certain components of their funding allocations. School boards are accountable for how they use all the revenue that they receive from education funding grants, including the revenue that they can use flexibly. HALTON Bridal Expo Sunday, September 19 12pm - 5pm TakingVendor Bookings Now! · Qualified buyers at your fingertips, eager to learn & ready to buy. · Brides & Grooms looking for expert advice & inspiration. · Make personal 3D contact right from the start. · Showcase your products or services, pass out samples, pick up leads. · Cost effective targeted marketing. 2 FASHION SHOWS! PRIZES! PRESTIGIOUS LOCATION! $25,000 MARKETING PLAN! YOU should be there! For more information, contact McLEAN-SHERWOOD PA R T Y R E N TA L & S U P P L I E S 878 2341 905