High Prairie School Division dealing with approximately $1 million budget shortfall

The High Prairie School Division is dealing with an approximately $1 million shortfall. The division’s Board of Trustees called a special budget meeting to deal with the issue on November 20. According to a statement from the HPSD, over $550,000 of that is due to an increase in insurance premiums for school boards and divisions across Alberta.  “There isn’t a board in the province that has not been hit with a dramatic increase,” says Board Chair, Joyce Dvornek. “That is a 274 percent increase in insurance premiums.”

Dvornek mentions that school boards in Alberta are now considered a category five risk, which is the highest risk ranking. “In order to get someone to cover all of the policies, they (insurance companies) said ‘this is how much money we need,’” comments Dvornek. She also mentions that she was at an Alberta School Board Association meeting. “People have let the government know and they have said they will have a look at it,” mentions Dvornek. “What that means, I don’t know.” Dvornek also says some provincial cuts to education have contributed towards denting the division’s budget

Despite the shortage of funds, the HPSD said in a media release that the decisions made for the 2019 budget will not have an immediate impact of staff and classrooms.

– Kenny Trenton, Trending 55 Newsroom