The 午夜夫妻福利剧场 unanimously passed a balanced budget for the 2025-26 school year.
At their monthly meeting on May 27, the Board renewed its commitment to protecting core educational services and approved all budget adjustments that were previously presented at a public meeting on April 16; see details in the presentation here.
Before reluctantly passing the budget, each trustee spoke about how they do not support the cuts, but that they were necessary to balance the budget.
Board Chair Kristin Schnider noted that without making those adjustments, the status quo would have resulted in a more than $3.3 million deficit for next year.
This decision is not a values-based decision. It is based on dollars and cents and a legal obligation. We do not want to do these cuts. This is the financial situation that we鈥檙e in and it is devastating, to be completely blunt. None of us signed up to be trustees to cut vital programs and services across the District. However, we are legally required to balance this budget.鈥
All school districts across British Columbia must submit a balanced budget to the Ministry of Education and Child Care annually.
In discussing the District鈥檚 financial situation, the Board Chair emphasized that less than $30,000 is remaining in the Burnaby School District鈥檚 Unrestricted Reserve Fund. Several trustees noted that this 鈥渞ainy day鈥 fund 鈥 which was at $10.2 million in 2022-23 鈥 has been relied upon for many years to support educational program costs and accommodate a rapidly growing student population. Over the last three years, approximately $7.5 million has been spent on portables from the Operating Budget.
Chair Schnider:
鈥淭he sad reality is that we do not have the money, anymore, to subsidize the public education system as it is, and it leads us to these difficult situations that we鈥檙e in today. There is a chronic underfunding of public education in this province and the people who are hurt the most by this are children, and that鈥檚 not lost on us.鈥
Schnider reiterated that, while the 2025-26 budget has been finalized, the Board鈥檚 advocacy efforts are ongoing and unwavering. The Board will continue to advocate 鈥 both directly and in partnership with others 鈥 for predictable, long-term, sustainable and adequate provincial funding for public education.
The 2025-26 Operating Budget for the Burnaby School District can be seen in the report here.
Learn More
Public Budget Presentation
May 27, 2025
Preparing the 2025-26 Operating Budget
April 2025
Preliminary Budget Report
April 2025
In the News
CBC Radio, May 22, 2025
Burnaby Now, March 23, 2025
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Posted May 29, 2025