“The budget hasn’t been approved so nothing is final,” said superintendent Lisa Doucet, but she said as the board looks for ways to balance its budget it is having to make some “difficult decisions,” especially when cuts to operations, travel and professional development don’t by themselves reach a balanced budget.
“We have had discussions with staff if these positions are reduced when the budget is approved because we wanted them to know that these things are being discussed,” Doucet said.
When it comes to NSTU teaching positions, the cuts include 19.88 FTE positions. Some of these teachers are retiring and won’t be replaced. Some reductions result from the closure of the adult high school programs. Declining enrolment and per-student funding is another factor. Teachers with higher seniority will bump others as staffing assignments are handed out.
The board is looking to cut 4.29 FTE elementary school librarians.
“So with these reductions it would mean we would have no librarians in our elementary schools,” Doucet said. Other reductions include one FTE school administrative assistant position and the equivalent of four FTEs when it comes to bus drivers (which would result from changes to some bus routes).
“When we look at our central office, we have one FTE for the manager of transportation, one FTE for confidential admin assistant, one FTE for administrative assistant in programs and student services, one FTE for technology integration lead teacher and one FTE for literacy lead teacher,” Doucet said.
Teachers being displaced from central office, depending on seniority, may bump other teachers if they go back into the classroom.
Board members are still going through the draft of the budget.
“At our July 7 meeting the budget will be an agenda item again,” Doucet said, saying board members will have the chance to review it until then to determine if there are other areas where cuts could be made.
Doucet stressed staffing positions being cut have nothing to do with job performance. “We’re cutting positions that, as a board, we don’t necessarily believe are the best choices for our students . . . but we’re in a position where we do have to present a balanced budget,” she said.
It was noted there are around 42 positions within the board that it receives targeted funding for from the province so those positions can’t be reduced.
Prior to its budget discussion the board had noted it is paying around $1.645 million to maintain excess space in schools that is not being used as classrooms. This is something the board said it will have to be address.
As well, the board is again deferring a lot of maintenance for its school buildings. Board members said the board can't keep doing this year after year as this deferred maintenance will eventually catch up with the board.
“This has been very heartbreaking,” said board member Elizabeth Acker about the budget.
“We’ve all been very discouraged sitting around looking at this budget,” she said. “The fact that people are losing their jobs and all of the staff of Tri-County are going to have more work to do, and the lack of maintenance that’s been happening, it’s been a very difficulty budget . . . my heart goes out to people who have received notices that their jobs may gone.”
