BLSD runs deficit budget, ‘status quo’ education taxes

Borderland School Division has proposed a $600,000 deficit budget to fund new equipment and boiler upgrades, while still keeping “status quo” education taxes increases for the 2026-2027 school year.

The $43.2-million budget sets aside $920,000 in funding for a new boiler system at the Roseau Valley School, with $590,000 coming from the operating budget and $330,000 withdrawn from capital spending, said secretary-treasurer Rachel Geirnaert. The province has previously committed $2.7 million toward upgrading the more than 50-year-old boiler.

“To put it into perspective, this boiler project…has been on our books for a good 10 to 15 years,” she said. ” We didn’t know if the project would ever happen with the assistance of the provincial government.”

The upgrades are slated to be completed by September.

The division opted for a deficit budget because its surplus rate was over the four percent limit, Geirnaert said. The deficit spending would still leave the division with $1.8 million, which is the allowable amount, without increasing taxes on ratepayers. But that surplus is still too low to address the division’s needs, she added.

“This is one project in one school, and we have many schools to to keep running; $1.8 million will not go very far,” Geirnaert said.

The province contributed $383,000 in funding, a 1.8 percent increase from last year. Geirnaert noted the increase doesn’t cover the division’s rising costs and is below the 2.3 percent Consumer Price Index.

“It will never be enough. So you just got to find a way to make it work,” she said.

Expenses for the division have increased by $3.1 million, with staffing being the highest cost. Harmonizing teacher wages saw salaries rise by 2.9 percent.

The division will add 10 new educational assistants to the division, bolstering the existing 95. No new teacher hires will be made for the school year.

Class sizes have remained a priority for parents in the division, said Geirnaert. The division’s pupil-educator ratio is one of the lowest in the province, sitting at 10.6 for 2024-2025. The division’s enrolment for the 2025-2026 school year is 2,110 pupils.

“We’ve heard back from our constituents that provided feedback in our budget survey that they would like to keep our small class sizes. We’re working really hard to do that and not cutting if we don’t have to,” she said.

The mill rate will increase by 8.8 percent, rising from 11.61 to 12.61. Geirnaert noted the rise brings the mill rate back into parity with previous levels, following last year’s decrease from 12.19 to 11.61. Homeowners with a property assessed at $300,000 can expect a $35 increase to their annual property taxes. Taxes were kept low due to the one percent boost in property assessments and leveraging the budget deficit by draining its surplus, said Geirnaert. The calculation also includes the $1,600 provincial education tax credit.

Additional spending includes having $250,000 as a bus reserve fund in case replacements are needed, a $20,000 auto scanner for the auto tech program at Roseau Valley School and $50,000 for four auto scrubbing floor-cleaning machines.

The next budget’s outlook will aim to maintain “status quo,” said Geirnaert.

“Our board believes in maintaining our buildings and our buses, they’re seen as an investment to make our operations run smoothly year after year,” she said.

Geirnaert hopes the province will increase its funding for future budgets because Borderland School Division is among many divisions with aging infrastructure.