Cowichan Valley School District 79 is growing, and as it does the district’s budget keeps pace.
The 2015/16 amended annual budget in the amount of $83,854,595 was formally adopted at the board’s Feb. 2 meeting, with the amended operating portion of the budget reflecting a growth of 136 students to the district and $1,608,501 in increased expenditures such as hiring additional teachers, classroom support staff and clerical staff on account of the growth in student population.
“When the annual budget is prepared in May it is based on an estimate of the enrolment that the district will receive in September. The amended budget reflects the services provided to the actual number of students attending in the 2015/2016 school year,” explained SD 79 Secretary-Treasurer Jason Sandquist.
The district’s budget showed a revenue increase of $1,608,501, mainly due to utilization of the prior year’s budget surplus. A total of $2.2 million in surplus funds is required to balance the amended annual budget for 2015/2016. This was an increase of an additional $1,484,082 of surplus funds from the budget adopted in May of 2015.