Higher than expected enrollment has given the Grand Erie District School Board an extra $7.2 million to hire teachers and other staff, invest in technology and upgrade schools.
Revised budget estimates for the 2022-23 school year are being submitted to the Ministry of Education after this week’s board meeting.
The updated budget revises the original 2022-23 numbers approved in June to include an additional 974 students registered as of Oct. 31. It also considers further projected enrollment numbers by the end of March.
The increase means the board will receive additional grants for student needs.
“This increase puts Grand Erie in a much better position to make meaningful investments in staffing, resources and other supports as we work towards our collective priorities related to learning, well-being and belonging,” said board chair Susan Gibson. “It’s a strong step forward as we continue to deliver caring, quality education across the region.”
Education director Joanna Roberto said the additional funding will directly help individual student learning.
“These new investments are focused on the classroom to provide programming supports, additional staffing, tools and technology to help Grand Erie students learn, lead and inspire.”
The board said the additional funds will allow the hiring of 20 elementary teachers, 20 temporary educational assistants to meet rising needs in areas of special education and four early childhood educators.
Other investments include:
- $1 million to purchase 2,500 laptops to increase the ratio of devices to students across the district.
- $650,000 for new resources, including math manipulatives, physical education equipment and literacy resources.
- And $300,000 for new library books.
The board said that an additional $4.8 million in deferred revenue from the 2021-22 school year will be used to invest directly into schools to support the areas of special education, Indigenous education, specialist high skills major programming, student success and rural education funding.
The revised budget also enables a number of upgrades to school buildings and grounds under the facility renewal plan. Capital projects slated for this year include updated HVAC, roofing, electrical, masonry and paving at schools.
The Grand Erie board includes more than 26,000 students at 58 elementary schools and 14 secondary schools in Brantford and the counties of Brant, Haldimand and Norfolk, as well as students from Six Nations of the Grand River and Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.
The board has more than 2,800 employees.