This evening [May 27], the Board of Trustees, Sturgeon Public Schools, approved the 2020 / 2021 Budget. Although the Board was able to protect class sizes for students in Kindergarten to Grade Three, reductions to programming and staffing across every school and department will result. Our Early Childhood Programs will also experience significant cuts.
The Board’s unwavering commitment to the stewardship of trust that is Public Education includes long term planning and forecasting in order to mitigate financial risk.
Further, the Board believes that building a one-year budget would have been shortsighted and would put at risk the Division’s ability to sustain programs and operations for the communities we are privileged to serve.
Thus the 2020 / 2021 Budget is based upon the following principles:
• A multi-year approach to fiscal planning and accountability;
• Sturgeon’s Vision, Mission and Values;
• Keeping resources in our classrooms;
• Financial Risk Analysis to ensure future financial sustainability of the Division and the programs that our children access; and
• The prudent application of Bridge Funding included in the new Funding Framework.
We share the Government’s commitment to fiscal prudence and understand the unprecedented economic times within which we operate. However, the impact of the New Funding Framework coupled with the October 2019 mid-year budget reductions is simply devastating to Sturgeon Public Schools.
Our Board remains committed to our students, staff and the communities we proudly serve. We will continue to put students first, and advocate to the Alberta Government to ensure our students receive quality Rural Public Education.
submitted by Sturgeon Public Schools
