Budget

To ensure our budget effectively supports our strategic plan and reflects our core values, we have implemented a structured, inclusive consultation process. This approach ensures that financial planning is data-informed, community-driven, and aligned with district priorities and Ministry directives. Our consultation process is grounded in the understanding that effective decision-making relies on thorough, inclusive input. By gathering insights from those impacted by budget decisions, we create a financial plan that not only supports our strategic objectives but also enhances trust and collaboration across our district.

Key Components of Budget Consultation

1. Broad-Based Community and Public Engagement
   
   • Public Budget Consultation: Allows community members to provide input, fostering transparency and mutual understanding around fiscal decisions.
   • District Committees: Collaboratively share information and gather input from trustees and attendees in public meetings, with each committee narrowing the focus as more information becomes available.
2. Focused Consultations with Key Internal Groups
   
   • Regular meetings with SCTA (teacher union), CUPE (support staff union), and the Educational Leadership Team ensure that internal groups are integral to decision-making. These sessions address operational and workforce concerns, aligning financial planning with practical, on-the-ground needs.
3. Engagement with Core Stakeholder Groups
   
   • Indigenous Education Advisory Circle: Provides insights from Indigenous rightsholders, ensuring cultural considerations and community needs are reflected.
   • District Student Leadership Team (DSLT): Engages students directly, giving them a platform to influence budget decisions that impact their educational experience.
   • District Parent Advisory Council (DPAC): Represents parent and caregiver perspectives, enabling family voices to be a guiding factor in budget priorities.

This structured engagement model ensures that our budget reflects the values, needs, and perspectives of the entire district community, creating a balanced and data-informed foundation for financial decisions.

Current Strategic Priorities

The consultation process has identified the following high-priority themes, shaping our financial strategy and guiding resource allocation:

• Mental Health and Wellness: Addressing mental health needs for both students and staff, essential for creating a supportive learning and working environment.
• Equity and Inclusion: Ensuring all students and staff experience an inclusive and accessible educational environment, with equitable practices integrated across programs and spaces.
• Transformative Learning: Focusing on collaborative, inquiry-based learning approaches that support innovative, adaptive teaching.
• HR Capacity and Workforce Development: Prioritizing workforce stability and growth, with targeted investment in HR to meet evolving student and staff needs.

Our budget allocations are intentionally structured to support these themes, aligning human and financial resources with both Ministry mandates and our district’s unique values and community needs. This alignment strengthens our focus from the district level to the individual learner, fostering a cohesive, responsive educational environment that delivers on our mission.