The Sooke and Saanich school boards have filed budgets for the next school year, sidestepping the controversy faced by the Greater Victoria school board.
School boards are required to submit balanced budgets to the provincial government by June 30 each year.
The Sooke board passed a $154-million 2021-22 budget with an emphasis on mental health for students and staff, early learning, and safe, clean learning spaces.
The budget accounts for another growth spurt in student numbers, with 300 to 400 new students expected in September — bringing the district total to around 11,300.
With that growth in mind, district officials have a wish list of projects they would like to be funded, including elementary schools in the Latoria, Skirt Mountain and Royal Bay areas, and seismic upgrades for or replacement of Sooke Elementary.
“As a rapidly growing district, our board of education is constantly looking at which areas we need to focus on,” said Sooke School District superintendent Scott Stinson.
“The communities we serve are growing quickly, so we re-evaluate every year to ensure that we are focusing on the schools and areas that need infrastructure the most.”
The Saanich board passed a $102-million budget that required trustees to deal with some challenges, including increases in the costs of basics such as fuel and power, said board chairman Tim Dunford.
The B.C. School Trustees Association is aware of the issue, he said. About $2.8 million in surplus funds helped balance the budget.
The Greater Victoria board, which serves about 20,000 students, was faced with an $8.7-million budget deficit that had to be pared down. Proposed cuts to middle-school music programs and youth/family counsellors led to a number of protests.
In the end, only about $80,000 in music-related items out of a total of $1.3 million was cut, and counsellors were maintained as the board passed a balanced $254-million budget, with the help of $4.8 million in accumulated surplus funds.
