Media Room

News Release

Councillor Questions School Board Budget Claims

(Thursday, May 31/2001)-- Councillor Sue Uteck today questioned the Halifax Regional School Board's claim that it planned to balance its budget this year "with no big job or program cuts."

The District 13 (Northwest Arm/Southend) Councillor said she thought that School Board claims about a balanced budget are "a bit misleading."

Councillor Uteck said Halifax Regional Council voted on April 28^th to give the school board the same amount as it did last year (approximately $19 million for Supplementary Education Funding.

However, Councillor Uteck said that in documents she obtained from the Board, it shows the Board plans to:

• Cut the All-City Music Program (Band and Strings Program) in the former Halifax and Dartmouth city schools."Classroom teachers will be cut by six positions in the former Halifax city schools and 2.5 teachers in the former Dartmouth city schools. The result will be larger classes in schools affected by the cut."

• Reduce Supplementary School Funds by $713,000 in the former Halifax city schools and $304,000 in the former Dartmouth city schools. These funds are to be used to implement School Improvement Plans. School Improvement projects for the school year 2001-2002 will have to be postponed to another school year.

• Change the current five-day instructional cycle in the former city schools to a six-day cycle that is more cost-effective. Physical Education, core French and classroom music will be changed from two, 25-minute periods each week to two, 30-minute periods over a six-day cycle. Pressures on teacher and administrative time increase, resulting in lost support services with the school.

Councillor Uteck said "If Regional Council is giving the School Board the same dollar amount in Supplementary Funding that it did last year, why aren't the same programs-at the same levels and frequency-being offered again in the coming year?

"Where is the million dollars that the School Board is taking from Supplementary Funding going? That money is meant strictly for enriched education programs, such as music, language instruction and physical education training-- not for core education funding," she said.

Councillor Uteck added " I admire the School Board's efforts to balance its budget, but not on the backs of the property taxpayers who are being charged for Supplementary Funding."

--30---

Councillor Sue Uteck
(902) 221-7651