Budget planning for the 2025-2026 school year
The three areas of focus for HPEDSB are reading, math and credit accumulation (at secondary school). These areas of focus align with the Ontario Ministry of Education priorities.
The budget for the upcoming school year is based on several factors, including the following:
- the three HPEDSB focus areas of reading, math and credit accumulation;
- projections of student enrolments;
- staffing requirements;
- program requirements; and
- school and transportation operating costs.
The Ministry of Education has a June 30 deadline for school boards to submit their budgets for the upcoming school year. Components of budget requirements and related expenses are developed between January and April, then comparisons to funding revenues are done in May and June to develop a complete budget. This entire process is dependent upon the timely release of funding information, including Core Education Funding (school board funding) from the Ministry of Education, to meet the June 30 deadline for budget submission to the Ministry of Education.
The Physical Planning, Finance and Building Committee reviews budget development and ultimately provides a recommendation to the Board of Trustees regarding the budget for the upcoming school year. Board approval is required before the budget can be submitted to the Ministry of Education.
Budget development timeline
January
• Review the budget development timetable
February
• Review the budget risks for upcoming year
• Establish budget guidelines and priorities (in alignment with the 2020-2025 Strategic Plan)
• Review and develop various budget documents (information and format)
March
• Review preliminary enrolment projections
• Review preliminary staffing requirements
April
• Review final enrolment projections and staffing requirements
• Review and develop revenue projections based on Core Education and Responsive Education Programs (REP) inputs
May
• Review the preliminary budget
June
• Review the final budget
• Recommend the final budget to the Board of Trustees
Public consultation
Public consultation is an important part of the budget planning process. In February, internal and external stakeholders have the opportunity to provide input on their priorities for the upcoming school year. This input, along with internal/staff projections and Strategic Plan priorities, inform budget planning.
We invite you to participate in a ThoughtExchange, which is open from February 7 to February 17, 2025.
2024-2025 Budget
At the public Board meeting on Monday, June 17, 2024, Board members approved the 2024-2025 budget, which includes a small surplus of $35,000. Prior to the release of funding information, HPEDSB took an intentional approach to review internal climate and plan for potential changes in funding. HPEDSB staff utilized data gathered from the community engagement survey results while making budget decisions. Throughout the budget process, while navigating the new funding framework, HPEDSB staff utilized the following to achieve the balanced budget:
- Business rules to assign resources equitably across the Board.
- StaffingPlus software to optimize classroom staffing allocation Board wide.
- Aligning funding to expenses.
Budget documents for reference