THUNDER BAY – The Lakehead District School Board approved its $171,433,200 capital and operating budget for 2024-2025, on Tuesday.
The budget includes a 6.7 per cent increase, $10,512,466 over the previous year.
Ellen Chambers, chair of the Lakehead District School Board, said their focus is always on academic achievement.
“We've enhanced student support services, increased funding for mental health and well-being programs. We've had investment in technology and in allocations for upgrading classroom technology and digital learning in schools. We always work on infrastructure improvements – we have green initiatives to support and promote sustainability.
“Professional development for educators is also a part of our budget that's really important because we need to upgrade and we have so many new initiatives coming down from the Ministry of Education all the time.”
Chambers said one of the really important parts of their strategic plan is support for Indigenous education.
“We have a commitment to the early years as always with increased funding and resources dedicated to that area.”
Mental health support is important and they have a special curriculum for Grades 7 and 8 that includes mental health. The board also has a social work department, Chambers said.
“They are working constantly with children who may be in distress and may need extra help.
“Particularly since the end of the pandemic, everyone is feeling the effects of that in our children,” she said.
Chambers said the main increase in the budget is related to salaries.
“We have just gone through negotiations for a new four-year contract that has gone on for about a year and a half. Salaries and benefits increased by $9.1 million over the previous year, $4.4 million is for salary increases alone for staff, as part of Bill 124.
“The government had to pay educators because of Bill 124, when they decided to break contracts and only give them one per cent instead of what they should have got.”
There are additional funds allocated for increases in the negotiated collective agreements and staff also get some increases, Chambers said.
“We're very pleased that we have a balanced budget. It's not easy to do with all of the constraints that we are actually under. We do a good job of that,” she said.
Chambers said one of the most important parts about the budget is that it's always direct service to the students, through their staff and educators and what goes on in the classroom.
“All of the extra programming that we have, like Kingfisher, we always make sure we put it in our budget.
“That's a priority for us so that every student in our system can go to Kingfisher Lake to do outside learning, science, land-based learning and then have an overnight.”
They don't receive any money for that from the province, Chambers said.
“We're very keen when we make decisions, so we can make the best decisions with what we have and what we're given to do the best for our students.”
Breakdown of where some of the money is going:
- $131,984,797 allocated for Core Education Funding
- $23.7 million for Capital Funding
- $2.3 million for Responsive Education Program Funding
