Prairie South School Division had budgeted a shortfall of nearly $4 million for the 2022-23 school year, but new data shows that deficit is nearly $600,000 less than expected.
Division administration presented a fourth-quarter report during the Sept. 5 board meeting that looked at total revenues and expenses to Aug. 31 — the end of the 2022-23 school year. Administration noted that the information was a forecast, not the final numbers, since it had not started working on the year-end financial report.
The budgeted year-end shortfall had been pegged at $3,978,969, but the forecasted deficit shows that deficit falling to $3,422,628, meaning the shortfall was $556,331 less than expected, according to the report.
The division plans to cover the deficit using its reserves.
Business superintendent Ron Purdy explained that he removed the $9.25 million in capital funding for the new school from the report because that data skewed the budget. If those numbers had remained, they would have made it difficult to determine how the organization did operationally.
Revenues
The report showed the budgeted revenues, forecasted revenues and differences between the two were:
- Grants: $83.8 million / $83.5 million / -$306,768
- Tuition and related fees: $285,500 / $297,401 / $11,901
- School-generated funds: $1.29 million / $1.29 million / $0
- Complementary services: $702,458 / $752,813 / $50,355
- External services: $3.3 million / $3.5 million / $249,028
- Other: $535,000 / $1.25 million / $719,198
- Total: $90.05 million / $90.78 million / $723,714
Grants was under budget because the province cut Prairie South’s PMR funding and requested that driver education be moved to external services, said Purdy.
Meanwhile, tuition and related fee revenues increased because PSSD is busing students from other divisions, complementary services was up because of extra provincial funding for the Early Learning Intensive Support (ELIS) program, and external services increased because of the driver education funding, he continued.
Furthermore, every sub-category in the Other category received more revenues than expected, such as sales of capital assets (buses) and building rentals.
Purdy noted that PSSD is receiving three to four times more money for used buses than in the past. It recently sold 15 such vehicles for $50,000, while it had expected to receive $7,000.
Chuckling, he said it was actually “quite surprising” that there was a big market for used buses.
Expenses
The report showed the budgeted expenses, forecasted expenses and differences between the two were:
- Governance: $410,886 / $387,534 / -$23,332
- Administration: $2.78 million / $3.1 million / $325,757
- Instruction (salaries): $64 million / $63.4 million / -$557,292
- Plant (buildings): $14.7 million / $15.7 million / $966,590
- Transportation: $7.63 million / $7.64 million / $10,174
- Tuition and related fees: $8,000 / $7,100 / -$900
- School-generated funds: $1.2 million / $1.2 million / $0
- Complementary services: $1.58 million / $1.68 million / $98,813
- External services: $3.3 million / $3.7 million / $356,058
- Other: $13,000 / $10,377 / -$2,623
- Total: $95.8 million / $96.8 million / $1,173,245
According to Purdy, administration expenses were over budget because the division upgraded its office parking lot this summer, instruction expenses were under budget because of moving the driver ed program, plant expenses were up because of utilities, caretaking supplies and spending PMR money, complementary services increased because of the added ELIS position and external services was up because driver’s ed was moved into this category.
The next PSSD board meeting is Tuesday, Oct. 3.
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