By Walter Byj
May 29, 2105
BURLINGTON, ON
Lucy Veerman (Superintendent of Business Services) presented, for approval on June 3rd, the 2015/16 Capital and Operating Budget.
Revenue was projected to be $686,712,959 and expenses of $674,843,009 which represent an increase of $8 million in revenue and $7 million in expenses over the current fiscal year.
In the upcoming year, the Halton board will have approximately 62,000 student which will represent a 1.2% increase overall which is being driven by increases in Oakville and Milton.
Burlington will experience a decrease of approximately 50 students next year. The 50 page long report will be voted on June 3rd. In the meantime the trustees have some homework to do.
With the budget discussions on the back burner until the trustees have digested all the data the board began to look at French Second Language Teacher Recruitment Primary Core French Update.
The Halton region is facing an uphill battle in hiring proficient French teachers for the French programs being offered in Halton. There continues to be an uptake in French Immersion enrolment and with the success of the Core French program, demand for qualified French teachers, in Halton and Ontario, continues to grow while the supply is limited.
While all the politicians will tell you that Halton area is a great place to live, new teachers face the high cost of living (housing) along with our current traffic that results in a number of them choosing other locations. Jeff Blackwell (Interim EO, Human Resources) did express some concern that despite their recruitment efforts, there might not be sufficient French teachers for the upcoming school year.
