Snowy owls Birds make rare appearance in north Nanaimo area. PAGE 7 Holiday home Two families receive keys to Habitat houses. PAGE 29 Happy ending Clippers hockey team wins last game of road trip. PAGE 3
Oil-Free Coast PAGE 22
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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012
VOL. 24, NO. 99
Ministry asks district to find extra savings School board trustees facing multi-million dollar deficits in upcoming years BY JENN M C GARRIGLE THE NEWS BULLETIN
CHRIS BUSH/THE NEWS BULLETIN
Wild ride Firefighters spread absorbent material to soak up fluids leaking from a Subaru that crashed on the Nanaimo Parkway near Tenth Street Monday morning shortly after 9 a.m. The car was travelling northbound on the Parkway when it slid left off the highway, crossed the median and both southbound lanes before landing in a ditch. The car hit a road sign en route which smashed in its roof. The woman driving the car was taken to Nanaimo Regional General Hospital to be checked over, but had no reported injuries. No other vehicles were involved. For more on the region’s first big snowfall, please see page 5.
Nanaimo school district’s secretary-treasurer has crunched the numbers and predicts a budget shortfall of almost $5 million next school year. Phil Turin delivered a four-year financial forecast to trustees at last week’s business committee meeting that predicts growing shortfalls over the next four years. “It’s not exactly Christmas cheer I’m bringing,” he said. “We’re in hot water, based on what I know today.” Turin said the problem is the district’s funding protection – a special grant given to districts to protect against a drop in funding due to declining enrolment – which will drop by 1.5 per cent of the district’s funding allotment every year. Next year the district loses about $2 million. At the same time, expenditures are going up – for example, the amount the district pays into the teacher pension plan will go up by about $800,000 next year, he said. Predicted shortfalls are $4.9 million next year, going up to $7 million for 2014-15; $8.7 million for 2015-16; and $9.7 million for 2016-17.
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The reaction was pretty instant and pretty hostile.
Turin said staff will now examine the entire budget to determine how to balance the books. And that’s not the only piece of bad news he gave trustees – the board also learned that the province is asking districts to find savings in this year’s budget to help provide compensation increases for support workers. “The reaction was pretty instant and pretty hostile,” said Jamie Brennan, school board chair man. “It’s very unreal what’s happening. We’ve been very compliant, we’ve played by the rules and now this, out of the blue.” Education Minister Don McRae sent districts letters asking that boards develop a savings plan by mid-January that would reach a target of 1.5 per cent of support staff compensation in their districts this year. ◆ See ‘SAVINGS’ /4
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