FRIDAY
APRIL 3, 2015
ABBY RIDINGS REDRAWN Proposed boundary changes would see five MLAs in Abbotsford region A11
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School district facing cuts with $3.5M shortfall Non-classroom programs among cost-cutting options Tyler OLSEN Abbotsford News
The Abbotsford school board must bridge a $3.5-million budget gap for the coming year, due in part to a province-wide directive to cut administrative spending. The district will hold a public information meeting Tuesday, at which the public can review a preliminary version of the 2015-16 budget and ask questions.
That preliminary budget won’t include trimming, but district secretary-treasurer Ray Velestuk said available options will be discussed at the meeting. The district currently has nearly $177 million in expenditures on its books. To get that figure down, Velestuk said the board will have to look at a range of ways to decrease costs. “We’re looking at things that are outside the classroom,” he said. That goes beyond cost re-
ductions at the administrative level, as the district will review non-classroom programs and services and consider reductions or ways to streamline or share them. The district supports numerous post-curricular activities, in-school services like counselling and special events. “We have to make some fairly big changes,” he said. “I don’t think it’s insurmountable, but we have to change how we operate. It will be
FUNDING CHALLENGES A6 Organizers of annual Arty Awards worried about event’s future
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CABELA’S EYES ABBY
HALL OF FAMERS
A5 Major American outdoor gear retailer looking at store on McCallum Road
FLOWER SHOW
Abby sports shrine names its 2015 inductees – Olympic skeleton athlete Amy Gough and rugby star Harry Toews
A10 Blooms showcased at annual Bradner event next weekend
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