Rocky View Schools faces budget deficit despite increased funding

Rocky View Schools' (RVS) budget continues to feel pressure despite an increase in the base grant received from the provincial government.

According to the school division, lower-than-expected enrolment, leading to a reduction in instructional funding as well as an increase in funding for mental health and curriculum grants, means RVS is expecting a higher-than-budget revenue of $328.5 million for the 2024/25 school year.

"Despite this increase, RVS is projecting higher total expenses of $332.1 million with a deficit of approximately $3.6 million to be drawn from the division’s reserves."

By the end of the second quarter, expenses were about halfway through the budget and are projected to come in slightly under budget, because of reduced spending on contracts and supplies.

At the latest Board of Trustees meeting, changes were made to different policies. According to RVS, those include:

• Policy 2 – Role of the Board 
  • Rewrote the background section describing high-level responsibilities of the Board. 
  • Changed the groupings of specific items into categories that reflect more of the governance functions of the Board and reorganized items to fit under these new categories. 
  • Updated and modernized some wording to reflect language in other policies previously revised. 
  • Removed items that were already specified in the Education Act or included in other policies.
• Policy 3 – Role of the Trustee
  • Rewrote the background section describing high-level responsibilities of a trustee. 
  • Grouped the list of items into themes related to ethical standards, trust and confidence, decision making, liaising with the community, working with the Superintendent, professional development, and keeping all items. 
  • Updated and modernized some wording to reflect language in other policies previously revised. 
  • Added a few items to clarify the trustee's role in contributing to a welcoming, safe and respectful working environment and involvement in professional learning.
• Policy 12 – Role of the Superintendent
  • Rewrote the background section describing high-level responsibilities of the Superintendent. 
  • Revised section categories to reflect updated language and reorganized items to fit under these new categories. 
  • Updated and modernized some wording to reflect language in other policies previously revised. 
  • Added a few items previously in Board Policy 2 – Role of the Board. 
  • Removed a few items that were not relevant or already specifically required by the Education Act.

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