Registration Opens for Greater Victoria School District Public Budget Meeting

The Greater Victoria School District is hosting an in-person public budget meeting on Thursday, March 10th, from 6 p.m.—8 p.m. to gather input on proposed budget options for the 2022/23 school year.

All members of the learning community—students, staff, parents, guardians and community partners—are invited to participate and help inform the upcoming budget. The Interim Superintendent and Secretary-Treasurer will present and provide details on budgetary considerations and ways to advance student success.

Attendees can learn more about resource allocation and emerging needs that require investment, such as initiatives within the Strategic Plan and Framework for Enhancing Student Learning, aging infrastructure, seismic upgrades and climate action initiatives. In addition, participants will be workshopping options to create solutions to budgetary demands while aligning to the Strategic Plan and the Framework for Enhancing Student Learning.

“We are looking to bring people together to discuss the opportunities and challenges we must address within the 2022-23 budget. Through respectful and meaningful dialogue, we hope to develop strategies and solutions that best serve our students,” said Board Chair Ryan Painter. “Our Board has some hard decisions to make as we face a $7 million deficit and work to recover from the global pandemic, growing inflationary pressures and depleted carryforwards. We invite the public to participate, learn where our challenges are, and share their perspectives on how we move forward together.”

This year, a Budget Advisory Committee was introduced to make budget recommendations to the Board. The committee was composed of Trustees, Senior Staff, the Director of Indigenous Education, the Four Houses (Songhees and Esquimalt Nations, Urban Peoples’ House Indigenous Advisory and the Métis Nation of Greater Victoria), and representatives from the Greater Victoria Teachers Association (GVTA), Victoria Principals’ and Vice-Principals’ Association (VPVPA), CUPE Local 947, CUPE Local 382, Allied Specialists Association, and the Victoria Confederation of Parent Advisory Council (VCPAC).

Over the past four months, the Budget Advisory Committee has been meeting regularly to review department budgets, roles and responsibilities, and overseeing the annual budget process. For more information about the work of the committee leading up to the public meeting, please visit: https://www.sd61.bc.ca/our-district/financial/

Public Budget Meeting
Thursday, March 10, 2022
6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Uplands Campus
*Registration required

Due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols, participants must register in advance. To register, contact vhanley@sd61.bc.ca. The deadline to register is Wednesday, March 9th at 4 p.m.

For those unable to attend, the presentation and supporting documentation will be posted on the District’s website. Following the meeting, feedback is invited through written submissions to community@sd61.bc.ca until April 1, 2022.

The first reading of the Board’s annual budget bylaw is on April 4, 2022. The Board requires three readings of the bylaw to approve the budget. The Board intends to have all three readings passed by April 7, 2022.

The Greater Victoria School District is comprised of 48 schools that serve the communities of Esquimalt, Oak Bay, Victoria, View Royal, portions of Saanich and the Highlands. In addition, it serves Four Houses: Esquimalt Nations, Songhees Nations, the Urban Indigenous Peoples’ House Advisory (UPHIA) and the Métis Nations of Greater Victoria. It is proud to provide quality education for more than 20,000 students – including 1,000 international students from across the globe and over 650 adult learners.

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