The Southeast Cornerstone Public School Division (SECPSD) held a regular meeting of the Board of Education on November 20th. Chief Financial Officer Shelly Toth says the division ended the fiscal year with a $1.1 million deficit, just slightly below the budgeted deficit of $1.2 million.
The division saw $3.5 million in unrestricted surplus, which Toth explains has decreased by $26 000 in the last year. She says they are fortunate to have surplus from prior years to draw from when there are deficits.
“In addition to unrestricted surplus, we also have $14.5 million in internally restricted surplus, where the board has identified areas where this surplus might be. That actually decreased by $1.8 million this past year, so in total between those two surpluses, our total surplus has gone from a high of $32 million at the end of the 2016-2017 fiscal year to just $18 million at the end of 2023-2024.”
The declining surplus has been gradual since 2017 according to their annual audit report. They’ve also seen a decrease in grant revenue, primarily from the provincial government, of $2 million lower than budget expectations. However total revenue slippage was less than one percent below budget expectations.
Toth explains the challenges facing the division going into the next fiscal year.
“We will have to continue to find efficiencies to manage some very tight budgets, obviously inflationary pressures continue to stress our bottom line. We are grateful to have some surplus to rely on, but we know that predictable and sustainable funding from the provincial level will be required in order to provide the best services to our students into the future.”