HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1990-05-09, Page 5THE HURON EXPOSITOR, MAY 9, 1990 — 5
Board df, Education 'no -growth' budget .passed
BY NEIL CORBETT
After five hours of cutting expenditures
Monday night, the Huron County Board
of Education passed a budget which
allows for a 13.4 per cent increase in tax-
ation, but no growth Ln the school system.
This is the toughest budget I've dealt
with since I've been a trustee," said
Chairman Joan Van Den Broeck after the
budget session, Van Den Broeck, who has
been on the board since 1980, called the
budget a "skeleton with no flesh."
Director of Education Bob Allan agreed
with Van Den Broeck's assessment of the
skeleton budget, and added "we can
operate that way one year, but we
couldn't sustain it."
"The biggest single thing that made it
tough was the reduction of provincial
grants. The province made it impossible,
or at least extremely difficult," said
Allan.
There has been a trend in recent years
decreasing the amount of provincial fun-
ding for education in Huron County. This
year the decrease continued and had to
be made up in the local assessment.
Superintendent of operations Paul. Carroll
said 9.3 per cent of the mill rate increase
was caused by decreasing provincial
grants.
"4.1 per cent. That's the real budget in-
crease, as far as we're concerned, as it
impacts on the ratepayer," said Carroll.
The impact on the average residential
assessment of $44,000 will be an increase
in the tax bill of $59. The total bill this'
year will be $497 in 1990, compared to
$439 last year, for education purposes.
Looking at the increase in spending,
Carroll points out that the 1990 budget
estimates $56 million dollars in gross ex-
penditures, compared to last year's $51.6
million, an 8.5 per cent increase. About
$1.4 million of this will be spent to ac-
count for pay equity adjustments;
changes to the Canada Pension Plan,
unemployment insurance and the
Worker's Compensation Board; OHIP
premiums; downsized teacher -pupil ratios
in primary grades, and other government
action.
Once new government policies are paid
for, Carroll says the actual increase in
spending is about three per cent, and
much of this would be caused by staff
salary increases. •
"It's an absolute no -growth, in some
respects shrinkage, budget," says Carroll.
April 30 administration originally
1
S
—1
presented trustees with:n budget that
called for a 22 per cent'' mill rate in-
crease, but the board sent it back and
asked that cuts be made with a 10 per
cent tax increase as a target. Administra-
tion found that over $2 million would
have to be cut out of the budget to reach
the 10 per cent goal.
Trustees were able to identify several
areas where $1.5 million could be cut out
of the budget:
• Scheduled additions to Hensall and
Exeter schools will not be constructed,
resulting in a $336,000 savings to
ratepayers.
• The equipment and furniture budget
was cut by $125,000. This money would
have -provided for items like overhead
projectors, desks, microscopes, sand
boxes, audio-visual equipment, and sand
boxes.
• The originally proposed teaching com-
plement was cut by enough positions to
account for $140,000. Allan commented
that there is `obviously going to be some
aftermath."
• The building maintenance/renovations
budget was cut by $56,000.
• Reserves for teacher gratuities were
cut by $250,000, but there is still money
in reserve, and money budgeted to cover
gratuities this year.
• Special projects were all cut to save
$580,000. These are less urgent projects
for board consideration at budget time,
and include items like renovations at
Vanastra Public School, elementary texts,
secondary textbooks, computers, asphalt,
paving, drainage, music pilot projects,
musical equipment upgrades and library
automation.
"IDEFICIT FINANCING"
A further $100,000 which the board puts
into reserves each year for unexpected
expenditures was taken out of his year's
budget. In fact the reserves were drawn
on for $360,000 for this year's budget,
causing considerable debate among
trustees.
Trustee Tony McQuail, representative
of Ashfield and East and West Wawanosh
Townships, said the board should stick to
its practice of only using reserves for
"something that adds to the systean, and
not the day to day operations of the
board."
"We're spending these reserves to deal
with ongoing operating costs. To spend
out reserves on this when a few years
ago we couldn't bring ourselves to spend
therm on capital projects, it doesn't make
weighing 7 lbs 9 ozs. A new brother for
Ryan. Proud grandparents are Ted and
Heidi Sauvage, London and Ewart and
Geraldine Wilson, Seaforth.
sense," said McQuail. "All we're doing is
deficit financing and deferring those
costs."
Van Den Broeck also spoke against us-
ing the reserves: "To use the reserves
just to maintain our operation level... I
can't see the wisdom in that. I would
spend all on a major project, and feel
good about spending tax dollars com-
petently. We are usour chargex to
pay for groceries."ing
Trustee Jim Chapman of Exeter said
he has a more optimistic view to the
future. He said other boards across the
province are having budgeting problems,
and the message will get through to
government. "I expect better from the
government, and I'm also looking to
ourselves to being more careful spenders
in the future,"
Trustees voted 8-6 in favor of using
reserves this year.
"I can live with the increase we have,
but I think we're going to have tough
choices to make next year and in years
to come," said. Trustee Norman Pickett of
Goderich.
"The budget, as approved, is going to
take an enormous amount of effort on
everyone's part to achieve. It is not
finished here tonight," said Allan.
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