The windmill of budget planning continues to spin forward for the Central Okanagan Board of Education.

At the same meeting as the amended 2023-24 budget was finalized for submission to the Ministry of Education and Child Care, the school district is embarking on another round of public consultation in preparation for the 2024-25 budget, which must be submitted by the end of June to the ministry.

At Wednesday鈥檚 board meeting, trustees adopted the amended 2023-24 budget bylaw, which reflects updated revenues and expenses based on actual student enrolment numbers and actual expenditure patterns for operating, special purpose and capital spending funding.

The actual 2023-24 budget comes in at $356,027,816.

That is about an $8.3 million increase from the budget initially adopted by the board of education last June.

While a balanced budget is required by the ministry at that point, budget adjustments are allocated by the ministry in the fall to account for actual student enrolment numbers in September following the summer break.

Of the $5.5 million increase to school district operating grants due to increased student enrolment beyond initial projections, about $2.4 million was allocated to address school operational gaps caused by growth.

This funding broke down as: $650,000 for school staffing, casual custodian and transportation salaries; $675,000 to increase the teacher illness budget; $630,000 to increase teacher benefit costs in response to costs pressures; and $540,000 was allocated by to school discretionary budgets to respond to escalated cost pressures.

The school district requested and received an additional $2.8 million in Classroom Enhancement Funding to allow for the addition of 19.5 full-time equivalent teachers in certain schools to better support contract negotiated classroom composition challenges.

The district also received an additional $517,050 in funding for the Building Safer Communities program from Public Safety Canada in partnership with the City of 琉璃神社, and was also the recipient of $468,830 in Jordan鈥檚 Principal funding from Indigenous Services Canada.

Other expense issues that have come to light since the initial June budget was adopted include increases in teacher illness, addition of a vice-principal position for Bankhead Elementary, increase in CEA (Certified Education Assistant) wages and salaries due to increased student needs, and rise in English Language Learning student enrolment and student needs.

Trustee Wayne Broughton, chair of the school finance committee, noted key financial risks in the 2023-24 budget year include the cost of sick leave and benefits, escalation of overall costs due to inflation, no provincial funding allocated for COVID-19 related expenses.

Meanwhile, the school district has begun to solicit input from partner groups and the general public about priorities for the 2024-25 budget.

Questions asked include identifying most important education programs and services provided at your school and why; changes in programs, services or activities to consider; and other information to pass on to the school district to assist in developing the next school year鈥檚 budget.

For more information on how to respond, go to the Central Okanagan Public Schools website .

READ MORE: Portables a drain on Central Okanagan School District budget