At last week's Rocky View Schools (RVS) Board of Trustees meeting, the board approved the budget development process and budget priorities.
According to RVS, each year, the Board approves the budget development process and the budget priorities. These are communicated to the administration at schools and leaders at the Education Centre and are used to develop school/departmental budgets.
The strategic plan of RVS and the budget priorities are closely related. The 2025–2026 priorities are:
- Provide direct resources to schools to support student learning with a focus on numeracy, literacy and new curriculum implementation.
- Support student and staff wellness.
- Enhance facilities and technology infrastructure.
- Target an operating reserve balance at the end of the 2025/26 fiscal year, excluding transportation, at 1 to 2 per cent.
"For 2025/26, schools have been directed to maintain optional school fees at the current levels, if possible, with no increases to individual courses greater than $10 or five per cent. No new alternative program fees for programs of choice are to be introduced."
The final operating and capital budgets are expected to be sent by May 15 to the Board's Budget Committee for assessment. These will be presented for final consideration at the Board's regular public meeting on May 22. If approved, they will be shared with the management of the school and Education Centre, our school communities, and the public at large.
Also at the meeting, an enrollment update was provided for the whole school division. At the end of September 2024, enrolment in RVS was 29,243, rising to 29,481 by the end of January 2025, according to RVS.
This school year is seeing a similar growth in students compared to other school years between September and January. In the 2022-23 school year RVS saw an increase of 221 students, during the 2023-24 school year, the division saw an increase of 245.
At an enrolment update back in October, a presentation showcased that Airdrie had around 13,250 students with Grade 10 being the largest contributor. While some schools are higher or lower than others, the total utilization rate of all Airdrie schools is 97 per cent.
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