Community weighs in on Seine River S.D. budget

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/11/2015 (3077 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Participants shared their opinions about where they would like to see money go within the Seine River School Division at the division’s annual public budget consultation meeting on Tuesday.

Among the 20 people in attendance were trustees, teachers, parents, and councillors from the rural municipalities of Tache and La Broquerie.

Trustees Jennifer Stefansson, Gary Nelson and Ed Mantie, all members of the board’s finance and operations committee, chaired the meeting and presented an overview of relevant facts, which included enrolment numbers, revenue and the resources and services budget money has gone to in the past.

Enrolment for this school year is 4,279, which is up 4.1 percent and is the second highest increase in the last 10 years, the presentation noted.

Some resources and services added to the school division this year in the budget include three full-time teachers, reading recovery, expansion of the Kids at Play program and a drama teacher.

After the presentation, participants were split into groups where they discussed what the school division was doing well, what could be improved upon and what could be removed or eliminated.

Among their answers, participants said the school division is doing a good job with literacy, enrollment growth, leadership programs in junior high and high school, support for English as an additional language and an off-site alternative program in St Norbert.

Participants included math, vocational options, overcrowding, extra help for kids without special needs, early years class sizes and the long-desired English high school in La Broquerie as areas that could be improved on or, in the latter case, pursued.

As for what could be removed or eliminated, one group said it was a loaded question, while another said what resources or services are needed for one family, won’t necessarily work for another.

The meeting’s purpose is to inform stakeholders of current fiscal environment and gather ideas and/or suggestions—but there wasn’t very many stakeholders in attendance.

Nelson said at the end of the meeting attendance has decreased over the years and challenged this year’s participants to bring a friend along next year.