The Wild Rose Board of Trustees approved the budget for the 2024-25 school year, following a presentation from the Associate Superintendent, Business and Finance, Ama Urbinsky and deliberation by the Board on Tuesday, May 21. The budget includes an operating deficit of $1,875,480 to be covered by the division’s operating reserves. Total revenue is projected at $65.76 million with expenses of $67.63 million.

The 2024-2025 School Division funding profile remained at similar levels to 2023-2024.  Wild Rose School Division receives over 90 percent of its funding from the provincial government

In 2024-2025, the division is projecting a modest increase to students of approximately 39.  The funding is based on Weighted Moving Average so this estimate accounts for 50% of overall funding for the base instruction grants in the 2024-2025 school year. In 2024-2025 the division is projecting staffing of 251.65 full time equivalent (FTE) teachers (including 4.5 held in contingency) and 95  educational assistants (including 6.5 held in contingency). In 2024-2025 teaching staff will increase by approximately 1.6 FTE and total Educational Assistants FTE will remain at status quo from 2023-2024. The classroom support approved by the Board in addition to extra Educational Assistants hired through the Federal Jordan’s Principle funding has resulted in increased support for students. The above staffing numbers do not include staff funded through Jordan’s Principle.

The Board continues to direct additional funding to support the following areas within Wild Rose:

• Although the Wellness department will see a reduction of approximately $220,000 in allocation for the 2024-2025 year, wellness of students and staff has always been a focus of the Board and the continuation of the Family Wellness Worker is built into this budget.  These individuals will continue to provide mental health support for schools. 
• Classroom complex needs also continue to be a focus. A new allocation model was introduced in 2023-2024 that provides consistent ongoing funding to our schools for their complex needs. 
• The School Resource Officer Program is an additional allocation by the Board to support liaison RCMP officers within our schools. This program is also supported by municipalities. 
• The Board continues to focus on helping division staff move forward in their commitment and understanding of the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action. The budget for this area reflects the need for both the federal truth and reconciliation requirements as well as the provincial teaching quality standards mandate. A dedicated team is in place to support First Nations, Métis and Inuit students experience success, enhance communications, and increase the cultural awareness between the school and the First Nations, Métis and Inuit community. In addition this team will provide a vital social and cultural link between the school and the community.

The budget will be submitted to Alberta Education by May 31 and has been posted to the division website. 

For more information, please see the Annual Budget Report as well as a more detailed description of the budget  in the document 2024-2025 Annual Budget Report - Supplementary Information.