The following is a summary of motions carried during the School District No. 5 (SD5) board of directors meeting on September 9.

Motions Carried

THAT the Board writes a letter of support to the Board of Education for Peace River North.

THAT the Board proposes a joint motion with the Board of Education Peace River North for the BCSTA AGM.

THAT Appendix B to Policy 3, Trustee Attendance, Participation and Professional Development be approved.

THAT the Annual Board Self-Evaluation, dated June 25, 2025, be approved.

THAT the Board of Education accept and approve the Audited Financial Statements for the period ended June 30, 2025, and authorize Secretary Treasurer Taylor to submit to the ministry as required.

CHAIRPERSON’S REPORT

From the province

“In the 2001-02 budget, public school districts received 15.49 per cent of the provincial budget, while this year they received only 7.97% of it, according to the BCSTA’s 2026 budget submission to the province.

Tracy Loffler, president of BCSTA, an umbrella organization made up of B.C.’s 60 public boards of education, said it’s a complex problem involving increased inflationary costs, increased benefit costs and inadequate capital funding.

“Districts from every corner of the province are experiencing some very significant budget challenges in ways that we haven’t seen for years,” said Loffler, who is also a Mission School District trustee.

“While we acknowledge and appreciate the increased investments in public education, it’s simply just not enough.” – CBC Lite; reported on the BCSTA website.

From the District

It is important to note that despite the difficulties experienced by other districts:

• The Kamloops, B.C., school district faced an estimated 5.79-million budget shortfall for the 2025-26 school year – the equivalent of 80 staff positions.
• C.’s biggest school district, Surrey, an estimated 16 million shortfall.

School District No. 5 passed a balanced budget, a three-year projected budget and successfully completed the yearly audit procedures. This is not to indicate our deliberations on a tighter financial belt were a comfortable process. As district, we actively advocate for quality education, equitable funding, early intervention and support for students with diverse needs and the replacement of aging facilities. We also recognize that “doing more with less” is a practical impossibility.

The successful opening to the 2025-26 school year was made possible by, and our continued gratitude includes: the dedication of the Accounting Department for their diligence and dedication, District Management for ensuring that the needs of all schools are equitably addressed, District Maintenance for the hard work of summer repairs and custodial cleaning and School-based staff for the organization and planning it takes to create a welcoming space for students, and to my fellow trustees for their compassion and vision.

This Month’s Highlights:

• 11 –Trustee tour of the Elk Valley schools and breakfast meeting with Maintenance and Transportation staff in Fernie.
• 12 –Breakfast meeting with the Maintenance, Transportation and District Staff in Cranbrook.
• September PAC Meetings, DPAC Meetings and impromptu drop-in school engagements.
• 19 –Professional Development opportunity to share growth in Indigenous Education.
• 26 – 27 –Kootenay Boundary Branch (KBB) meeting of the British Columbia School Trustees’ Association (BCSTA) in Invermere.
• 29 –Committee Day.
• 30 –National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

SD5

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