Lambton Kent District School Board trustees have approved a balanced budget of $291.1-million for the 2017/2018 school year.
The budget is based on a projected enrollment of 21,482 students which includes over 14,000 elementary and 7,000 secondary students. The board has 1,354 full time equivalent teachers, along with 266 teacher assistants and 95 early childhood educators.
The board's capital budget is $31.77-million, which includes ministry investments for capital renewal at the Great Lakes Secondary School and Plympton-Wyoming Public School permanent sites.
The board says while overall provincial funding per pupil remains stable, it continues to be negatively impacted by declining enrollment.
The Ontario Ministry of Education continues to encourage schools boards to address underutilized school space. Changes to top-up funding will result in a lower number of local schools that will be eligible for funding in future years and this marks the final year of the Geographic Circumstances Grant, which provides additional funding for rural and small communities.
