Cuts slice into Saskatoon Public Schools education funding as budget balances out

A Saskatoon Public Schools report noted that there is a large gap between inflation-adjusted, per-student funding and actual per-student funding for schools.

Saskatoon Public Schools has approved the operating budget for the upcoming school year, but cutbacks have come down to make ends meet.

“We’re appreciative of the additional funding we’ve received,” said SPS board chair Colleen MacPherson.

“That said, there is still chronic underfunding pressures throughout the division we will need to address but the focus of this budget is directly supporting classrooms where the resources are needed most.”

In March, operational funding was raised to $256 million for the school division from $253.2 million the year before.

In June, an extra $8 million was added, with $2.7 allocated to class size and composition funding, and $5.3 million for enrollment growth.

“The school division is expecting an additional 1,036 students in September 2023, which means our total enrollment will top 28,000,” MacPherson said.

“We are excited to welcome so many new students but with increased enrolment comes increased pressures so we’ve chosen to invest every additional dollar at the classroom level to better support our students and staff.”

Projected enrollment for September is set at 28,294 students, but SPS noted that projected enrollment the year before was 26,590 with the actual number hitting 27,258.