SD57 passes 200-million dollar budget

School District 57 has passed its 2025 budget, balanced at $207,554,415.

SD57’s board of education passed all three budget readings unanimously at this afternoon’s (Tuesday) board meeting.

The budget’s passing is a weight lifted off the collective shoulders of the board and the district’s senior staff who have spent weeks deliberating over where to make $2 million in necessary cuts.

You can see all the budget cuts made here:

The board held a special mid-month meeting on May 14th to discuss these cuts and more, you can read about that process here.

Some proposed cuts that the board opted to keep in the 2025 budget included:

• Removing a Valemount area counsellor
• Reducing district clerical staff
• Eliminating the distance education program
• And charging students / families $50 a year to use the school bus ($75 per household max).

SD57 had been operating in a structural deficit in years prior and no longer had a surplus to plug holes with, however, they also mentioned some expenses that have increased in a major way since 2019 which were also considerable factors in the deficit.

• Contract bussing costs – increased 23% ($880,000)
• Custodial supplies costs – increased 48% ($130,000)
• Vehicle supplies (fuel, maintenance, insurance) – increased 36% ($110,000)
• Worksafe BC premiums – increased 132% ($900,000)

SD57’s board chair, Craig Brennan, said the cuts this year will remove the district’s long-term structural deficit, and he hopes to be in an easier spot when it comes to the 2026 budget.

“The process is very thorough, there is a lot of commitment, time, and collaboration, and it is not easy,” Brennan told My PG Now after the meeting. “We now have a balanced budget, we are not in a structural deficit. That sets the stage for next year to be good.”

Staffing reductions and reductions in administration were both listed in the cuts made to the budget.

Brennan said most of them were through attrition – people who had retired whose jobs would not be re-filled, or efficiencies found.

This was not the case for some, though Brennan could not discuss the details of individual jobs lost.

Multiple trustees thanked district staff for their work revising the budget countless times in the last few weeks.

Among them, trustee Shar McCrory called for the board to give themselves, staff, and the community more time next year.

“I don’t feel that we gave wholesome opportunity for feedback for our partners, parents, and students,” she said. “I hope moving to next year we will be mindful of the things we can improve on and start sooner so everyone feels their voice has been heard.”

Brennan agreed, saying “we can always get better, the board is actively working so there is better engagement with the students, staff, partner groups and public in general.”

You can find the district’s full budget starting on page 18 of this PDF.