DSBN budget makes room for salary increases, 70 new teachers

District School Board of Niagara’s 2021-22 spending plan is about $22 million higher than last year and reflects new hires and pay increases.

During an online meeting Monday night, finance committee chair and Niagara Falls trustee Kevin Maves said the increase can also be attributed to boosted benefits.

The budget was approved at nearly $523 million.

In a news release, DSBN said the average cost of education per student is expected to be $12,686, which equates to a 1.2 per cent increase of $152 per pupil.

“Through the development of this budget, trustees worked to balance COVID-19 recovery, with investment in student programs that provide ongoing resources to help them be successful in school,” said Maves.

An additional $22 million in the Grants for Student Needs, funded by the province, is due in part to more students enrolling at DSBN schools during the 2021-22 school year, paired with COVID-19-related funding, the board said.

The projected enrolment for the upcoming academic year is 39,250 students, an increase of 1,404, or 3.71 per cent from the 2020-21 population.

This rise in enrolment will lead to the addition of more than 70 teachers, the board said.

Working around the impact of COVID-19 on mental health, trustees were pleased that the government included additional, permanent mental-health funding into grants for student needs.

DSBN will receive an additional $153,000 to bring permanent funding for mental health to about $1.3 million.

These funds will be allocated to programs supporting student mental health such as professional learning for educators and collaborating with community mental-health providers for students requiring more intensive supports.

Encouraging students to get involved in trades will be supported with $100,000 in the budget.

The board set aside $65,000 for the Tutors in the Classroom program to be offered again next year, whereby DSBN hires post-secondary students who are enrolled in colleges and universities to tutor students in kindergarten to Grade 6, focusing on literacy and numeracy.

Trustees continued to support synthetic school turf fields and tracks with $30,000 allocated to maintenance and equipment.

With a current provincial moratorium in place for accommodation reviews, staff will “continue to review school boundaries to address pressure in some schools and, where possible, address under capacity at other schools.”