DAVID SCHAUB. DPAC.

Aaron Davis, Director of Instruction. Helen McGregor, Superintendent, SHE-HER.

Laura Lee Russell, Executive Director of Finance. Flavia Coghlan, Secretary of Treasury and CFO.

Gabrielle Danwich, Director of Finance. Paul Rosberg, Manager of Financial Planning and Analysis.

Jesse Gressley-Jones, Executive Director of Facilities.

Patricia McNeil, Director of Communications.

Pedro da Silva, EHAM Associate Superintendent. Allison Ogden, Pronounsor She, Her, Associate Superintendent. Maureen McCray-Stanger, She, Her, Associate Superintendent, Elementary. Janice Myers, Associate Superintendent, She, Her.

Thank you very much, Chair. It's a pleasure to be here this evening. Next slide, please. The Vancouver School District provides a summer learning program that has robust subscription every summer. Our program has stayed about constant for the last four years. We have just over 11,000 students that attend the summer learning program through a range of different types of programs. We offer courses that are funded by the Ministry of Education and Child Care. We have fee-based activity courses for students in grades one to seven. And we also have fee-based courses for students in grades 8 to 12. The fee-based courses for students in grades 1 to 7 permit a family, should they choose to send their child to summer learning for the entire day, to attend one ministry-funded course and one activity-based course, providing all-day programming. The students who come for the activity-based course for the all-day programming continue to receive educational supports in ELL, Indigenous education. or for students with disabilities and diverse abilities. Even though we don't receive funding from the Ministry to do that for the fee-based course, it's a service we provide. The fee-based courses in grades 8 to 12 are largely subscribed by international students or non-ordinarily resident students in British Columbia and would pay international fees, which I'll talk about in a moment. The reason that I'm here today is that we want to talk about a potential increase to these fee-based activity courses and international fees. Next slide, please.

So the proposal that's presented today is to increase the grade one to seven fee-based activity course from $390 to $425. and also increase the non-resident student learning summer fee for completion courses. These are 80 hour courses, grades 10 to 12, where an international student received four credits upon completion towards a graduation program, increased the rate from $2,100 to $2,175, which represents approximately one eighth of a September to June international tuition fee payment, which is $17,000. The preview, review ELL courses are 40-hour courses. Again, would be for non-resident students and to increase the fee modestly from $1,050 to $1,090. Next slide, please. The rationale for these fee increases is that the ministry funding allocations, so the courses that are funded by the ministry, will not increase for the summer of 2026. That includes supplemental funding, which is outlined in the report that you received in the package. You can see the supplemental amounts that we apply for students who qualify for those. Those amounts will also remain fixed from 2025 to 2026.

But more importantly, we've had a recent collective agreement settlement with the PCTF and includes general wage increases of 3% effective July 2025, July 1st, 2025.

and an additional 3% effective July 1st, 2026. The summer learning program is fully staffed by multiple Vancouver School Board employee groups, all who are expected to receive similar salary increases. Those collective agreements are not resolved, but there is a pattern across the province. We also have inflationary costs for supplies that impact the summer learning budget. The proposed fee increases align with summer learning fees charged by other districts in the Metro Vancouver area. I believe in the package that the range is from just under $400 to a high of $500. So we are within the range that our Metro partners charge for fee-based courses. The same is true for international education. We're well within that range as well.

So the proposal that's in front of you then, for the trustees is the recommendation that the board approve the following 2026 summer learning fees. So that is a non-resident summer learning fee of $1,090 for preview, review and ELL courses. A non-resident summer learning fee of $2,175 for grade 10 to 12 completion courses and an elementary activity fee paying course increase to $425. At this time, I will take any questions.

Through the chair, yes, we do. So the Vancouver School District, we have a financial hardship procedure. So the families typically, they either ask for support through their local school principal or they can request it directly to the summer learning principal at VLN. And we provide that as per our procedure for financial hardship.

So through the chair, the rationale for the smaller increase for international student fees is to align them with the September to June rate. We have not increased the $17,000 tuition rate for September to June students for 26-27. I'm sure at some point there will be a discussion about that, but for our international students who attend Summer Learning 2026, those are students that are already in our system right now. They are not new students to the organization, and so it seemed appropriate to charge them one-eighth or about one-sixteenth of the tuition fee that they pay.

Yes, they could. So we do have international families in grades one to seven that are already in our Vancouver schools. but 140 students, should they choose to take a summer learning course, that would be the equivalent of the 40 hour course. So their tuition fee would be $1,090.

Sorry, just for clarification, we're still talking about a not ordinarily resident student in British Columbia as an international student? That's the first part of my question. Yes. So they would pay the international student fee because they're not residents of British Columbia.

Yes, families don't have to reside in Vancouver to participate in Vancouver summer learning programs. We have a small percentage of families who do that, that they choose to come to Vancouver schools and they would pay the BC rate, which is $425 to participate. So if they are residents of British Columbia, then they would pay the same rate as a Vancouver student.

I can answer that question. So in our estimates for the 2026-27 financial plan, With respect to summer school and salaries for staff that will be supporting the summer school program, the labor settlement costs related to the salary increases, it's currently budgeted as a labor settlement grant from the Ministry of Education. So we do expect that the province will fund the salary increases for students all staff, whether they support a summer program or the regular program. If that is not the case, then we will have to make adjustments to our estimates. But at this point, we are estimating that there is no negative impact or bottom line related to the negotiated collective agreement wage increases.

Both the fee-paying courses and the non-fee-paying courses generate some revenue to the bottom line. So there is no, it's not a cost neutral. The activity fee that is calculated is calculated as a cost recovery. So those ones don't generate additional funding. international student fee would generate some additional contribution to the bottom line of PSB.

We follow collective agreement language when it comes to student class size. Sorry through the chair. So yes, four to seven, class size maximum of 30, the same with eight to 12.

English would be a 28 for English language arts classes in high school.

Thank you for the clarification. Yes, the summer learning program has does have constraints that we work with. One is what buildings are available. So we want to make sure that we know how many classrooms or classes we can run in those spaces and that facilities we work in collaboration with them to make sure that the space is available. The other part is recruitment of the workforce. The only teachers that we employ for summer learning are already existing Vancouver School District teachers. And so teachers indicate an interest and then we maximize our workforce to that is the teacher workforce for to match to the demand of students. I will say that we have been the same size for the last four years. largely because that's the maximum number of teachers that make themselves available for employment in the summer.

The only fees that we charge for secondary programming are the international student fees, and it's in alignment with surrounding school districts.

Through the chair, I have that. I just have to find it in my data table. Approximately 222 in 25, like last year. 222 students were international students. 160 of them were the 80-hour course, and 62 students were the 40-hour course.

I was just wondering for the different course types, do we track how many people are not able to get into it? So like how many people are said that there's not space available?

Yes, our registration system is online. And so we run wait lists. And yes, we do know what courses are in high demand. Usually the reason we can't meet the demand is because we cannot hire a teacher in that particular area. The most impacted areas tend to be senior mathematics, chemistry, and physics classes.

To follow up, do we know roughly how many that is? I hate to put you on the spot, but... Through the chair, I don't have that data sitting in front of me. Thank you.

That would be at the board meeting through an amendment to the motion that's going to be tabled.

Thank you, Chair. Good evening, everyone. Tonight, myself and Flavia Coughlin, Secretary-Treasurer, will be co-presenting the draft 26-27 financial plan. A financial plan for a school district and in this case the second largest school district in British Columbia is a complex task. Even though you are hearing only from the two of us, I want to acknowledge the efforts of all of the members of the senior team and all members of the budget team, many of who are present this evening. Last evening we presented this draft financial plan at a special board meeting. We are pleased to present a balanced operating budget for the 26-27 school year, and also a draft multi-year plan that incorporates all funds. This draft financial plan has been informed by the VSB Education Plan, the priorities outlined in the Framework for Enhancing Student Learning report, and the key considerations that emerge from the financial plan engagement process to date. We will be getting into more specifics of these elements as we work through our presentation this evening, which will be a little different than the one that some of you participated in last evening. For everybody here in the boardroom, the committee, we are asking you to hold any questions you might have until the end of the presentation, and we would be pleased to answer them at that time through the chair. For folks attending this meeting online, The draft 2627 financial plan report has been posted online where the agenda for this meeting is posted. We will be referring to page numbers or sections in the report as we present this evening to help people follow along. I do want to make an important note. The largest part of our finances, as you will see, are spent on salaries and benefits. To that end, it is important to note that adjustments proposed in this plan and the impact of declining enrollment have impacts on individual employees. We have met with union leaders and professional association leaders whose membership might be impacted by proposals in this draft financial plan. Conversations are also happening with individual staff that might be impacted. Remember, this is a draft plan at this point. We follow the provisions of collective agreements and employment contracts, and we will not be discussing individual impacts in public meetings. When the board approves the budget bylaw, staff then will implement the budget by following all required processes with respect to our employees. So I thought that was important for people to know as we proceed through the presentation this evening. Next slide, please.

I wanted to highlight something that is different, which is legislation put into place in 2025 related to Indigenous Education Councils, as outlined in the BC School Act.

Each board must establish an Indigenous Education Council, and we have done so with Hamakweem, Skomish Oka Mayo and TTsleil-Waututh Nation. The IEC also has responsibility for approval of the indigenous targeted funds that show in our financial plan. Last evening, I had reported that we were planning for a meeting this week. Due to feedback from the nations, we're looking to reschedule a meeting into next week. So just wanted to make you aware that things had changed a little bit. Next slide.

Not a surprise, I think, to folks around this table, but a board must approve a balanced budget. That is a responsibility of the board and in compliance with legislation. And what that means is that expenses are equal to revenues, which may also include the use of surplus funds. And you're gonna hear about all of the funds in the presentation this evening. Next slide.

Alignment. A policy and legislation alongside the education plan directions are critical to a board's financial planning process. The VSB's education plan is the north star for our daily work and for decisions made by the board. Page six of the draft financial plan report includes links to the plan, which is grounded with a value statement, equity statement, and three main goal areas. I want to learn more about our education plan. there's more materials on our website. Next slide. Also on page six, you will see this visual. The draft financial plan for 26-27 has been developed amidst a backdrop of economic uncertainty as British Columbia navigates potential financial challenges and continued impact of change federal immigration policies that continue to impact student enrollment in the school district. Despite this, VSB remains committed to maintaining a comparable level of programs and services as provided in the previous school year, this year, 25-26. The draft financial plan prioritizes initiatives that align with the goals outlined in the education plan, ensuring that VSB continues to support positive outcomes and experiences for students. Throughout this financial planning process, all spending has been meticulously reviewed to redirect resources to schools and classrooms, fostering inclusive learning environments. The plan responds to community calls for more direct support for student learning in their neighborhood schools by reallocating available funding resources, resulting in additional student support workers, or SSAs, that appear in this plan. This budget achieves these goals by reallocating positions from the district to schools and classrooms and reducing district level budgets, centering the needs of students while ensuring fiscal responsibility in challenging economic circumstances.

We have also built this plan to operate within special purpose funding we are provided to offer supports and services. Next slide, please.

Our financial planning engagement began on January 12th officially when we opened written submissions by mail and email to budget at vsb.bc.ca. These written submissions have been shared weekly with trustees and to date we've received 27 submissions. Engagement activities throughout this process have been designed in line with IAP2 best practices, offering multiple and accessible ways for people to provide input. We engage a broad range of voices, including inherent rights holders, formal stakeholder groups, students, families, staff, and the broader public. An interim engagement summary report was posted on our website and shared broadly at the end of February, and I do encourage you, if you'd like to learn more, to go and take a look at that fulsome report.

The engagement report will be updated to reflect perspectives shared since that date, and through the remaining engagement opportunities with a final summary provided ahead of the board's final consideration of the financial plan. The timeline on the slide, which you can see, shows key engagement activities that have been completed to date and what's coming. So on there, you can see today's date, April 8th. We're at the finance and personnel committee where we're presenting the plan and stakeholders and trustees have the opportunity to ask questions. You can see the following dates there. I'm now going to pass it over to Secretary Treasurer Coughlin. Thank you.

Good evening. Next slide, please.

In developing the draft financial plan for 2026-27, the overall goal is to maintain, to the extent possible, a comparable level of programs and services as provided in the current year. The development of the annual budget for 26-27 included the development and approval by the board of the 2025-26 amended annual budget, which was approved by the board back in February. The development and submission to the Minister of Education and Childcare of three-year enrollment projections, and those were shared with this committee at the February meeting. The development of base budget, which included revenue and expense estimates, validation through a detailed budget review process, estimated enrollment-driven changes to revenue and expenditures, estimated changes to employee salaries and benefits, estimated changes to services, supplies, and utilities due to contractual rate changes, and adjustments for one-time revenue and expenditures that were included in the 2025-26 budget but should not reoccur in 2026-27. We also completed a comprehensive review of all grants to ensure that the expenditures associated with those grants do not exceed the allocated funding.

Consideration has been given to structural deficit reduction strategies and to not implementing any changes to this budget that will increase the structural deficit. The financial planning engagement feedback was considered and informed financial priorities included in this draft financial plan. Next slide, please. Our enrollment projections and historical enrollment numbers for school age and adult funded full-time equivalent students are included on this slide. VSB estimates serving 51,859 students during the 2026-27 academic year. This represents a decrease of 332 students compared to the current year. The variance is primarily attributed to changes in federal immigration policies, which have led to lower immigration levels. Enrollment will be closely monitored throughout the year, and staffing levels may need to be adjusted to reflect actual enrollment in our schools. Additional information about enrollment is available in the report starting on page 54. The Ministry of Education and Child Care used the enrollment projections provided by all school districts to calculate the preliminary operating grants that were announced on March 12, 2026. Next slide, please. The Ministry of Education and Child Care provides two types of grants, operating grants and special grants. This slide includes information about the operating grant for 2026-27. Details about the operating grant are available starting on page 18 of the report. Operating grants are allocated based on a multi-part formula primarily based on student enrollment with 73% of funds being allocated using the standard per student FTE amount of $9,015 per school agent. There were no changes in per pupil rates to reflect the recently ratified collective agreement with the teachers union and is expected that labor settlement funding will not be received through this grant but as a separate labor settlement grant. No additional funding has been provided by government to address inflationary cost pressures. The preliminary operating grant for 2026-27 is $589.51 million. This grant will be amended by the Ministry of Education and Childcare in 2026-27 based on actual student enrollment in our schools reported in the three towns September, February, and May. Next slide, please. This slide summarizes estimated special grant funding for the 2026-27 year compared to grants received in 2025-26. The announced preliminary classroom enhancement fund allocation for teachers represents 100% of funding received in the current year.

Final allocations for 2026-27 will be announced in December 2026 and will be based on actual additional teacher staffing needed to meet collective agreement requirements for non-enrolling ratios and class size and composition as of September 30th, 2026 and estimated remedy payable for the year 2026-27.

The classroom enhancement fund remedy funding is not yet announced and it will only be announced in December 2026. So our budget does not include either revenue or expenses associated with remedy for the 2026-27 year. And our estimate is that any remedy that is going to be accrued is going to be fully funded by the province, and those adjustments will be made in the amended budget. Community link funding remains unchanged, and the learning improvement funding has increased slightly by $9,607. Labor settlement funding amount, although including this table, has not yet been announced by the Minister of Education and Childcare. Our estimate is that the funding required to meet our labor settlement obligation in 2026-27 is $29.6 million.

Feeding Futures funding has been confirmed by the Minister of Education and Childcare and is included on this slide, a slight increase of $22,861 compared to the current year. The National School Food Program has not yet been announced, and what's shown on this table is our estimate based on our enrollment estimates for next year. This amount is going to be confirmed over the next month, and when that's the case, we will update our draft financial plan. Next slide, please. On this slide, we have summarized revenue and expense for all funds. Additional information can be found on page 16 of the report. For 26-27, a deficit of $1.63 million is budgeted for the capital fund. A deficit in the capital fund is permitted for the amount that amortization of tangible capital assets expense exceeds the amortization of deferred capital revenue. This year, that amount is $7.99 million. Additional information about the capital fund is included in the report starting on page 42. Next slide, please.

On this slide, the bar graph depicts the revenue by source. For all funds, 88.81% of revenue is from provincial grants. 2.19% of revenue is from tuition. Rentals and leases contribute to 1.08% of revenue. and the balance 7.92% is made up of amortization of deferred capital revenue, investment income, and other revenue.

The pie chart displays the expense by type for all funds. For all funds combined, salaries and benefits represent 85.11% of total spending. Service and supplies represent 9.96%, and the amortization of tangible capital assets represents 4.92%. Next slide, please. In the next few slides, we will dive deeper into the budget for the operating fund, including this draft financial plan. On this slide, we have summarized the revenue and expense estimated for the operating fund. Detailed information about the changes incorporated in this draft operating budget can be found from page 17 to page 31 of the report. For the operating fund, a balanced budget is included in this draft financial plan. Revenues are estimated to increase by $26.2 million in 26-27 compared to the current year. The largest estimated funding increase relates to labor settlement funding, which is expected to total $29.63 million. And this is partially offset by the estimated reduction of $5.15 million in tuition revenue related to lower projected international student enrollment. Estimated operating grant changes related to enrollment are summarized on page 8 of the report. For expenses, salaries and benefits are estimated to increase by $26.44 million. And details of the change drivers are included on pages 22, 23 and 24 of the report. Service and supplies costs are forecasted to be $7.21 million lower than budgeted in the current year. And details for the changes are included on page 25 of the report. The annual budget reflects the removal of one-time costs incurred in the 2025-26 year that are not expected to be incurred in 26-27 as they were related to appropriate surplus from the prior year that was carried forward to the current year to support deferred spending. And those one-time items total $7.36 million. Increases to service and supplies are related to contractual or rate changes totaling $610,000 and proposed budget reductions for district level supplies and services budgets totaling $480,000. Next slide, please. Starting on page 26 of the draft financial plan, you will find the operating budget highlights. The majority of operating revenues are estimated to be received from the government in the form of the operating grant from the Minister of Education and Child Care, other provincial grants, and federal grants. That is 92.81% of our operating budget revenue. The level of provincial funding consequently has a significant impact on the educational services and programs that can be offered by the VSB.

Because the primary determinant of provincial funding is enrollment, variances between the forecasted enrollment and actual enrollment affect the actual funding received in the year. And we will continue to monitor enrollment throughout the year and provide updates as needed. Outside of provincial grants, international education and other tuition fees are the primary source of revenue, which account for 5.55% of total revenue. The projected operating budget revenue for 26-27 is $680.07 million. Next slide, please.

The projected operating expenditures total $680.07 million. Salaries and benefits account for 91% of operating budget expenditures, while services, supplies, utilities, and capital assets purchased represent 9%. And with this, I'll pass it over to Superintendent McGregor.

Thank you. And through the chair, I'd like to bring your attention to pages 26 to 31 of the draft financial plan document, and you will find the operating budget highlight section that includes specific mention. If you can move to the next slide of indigenous education, inclusive education, international education, early learning and childcare, food services, Print Shop Operations and the Vancouver Project Office. So I'm going to do a review of those items, but I'm going to ask some of my colleagues to add some bit of additional information from our presentation from yesterday evening. So I wanted to start with Indigenous education. We anticipate a slight reduction in enrollment for Indigenous students that have self-identified to 2003 FTE next year. which generates 3.59 million of targeted funding. And you heard me talk earlier about the legislative requirements of the IEC approving the use of targeted funds. So we have another meeting next week to continue that work. Page 27 provides more details about Indigenous education and that important work. If you move to the next page, page 28, I'll move on to inclusive education. This year's budget is informed primarily by enrollment data and observed shifts in student support needs across the district. The Vancouver School Board is seeing an increase in the number of students reported in the level two funding category. And that is similar across the province as we talk to our colleagues. And this is expected to continue into the following school year. At the same time, referral numbers for elementary self-contained programs remain low. reflecting changing patterns as more students are supported in their local neighborhood schools.

In response to these trends, the budget prioritizes investments that strengthen inclusive supports within neighborhood schools, rather than operating small segregated programs with limited enrollment. I'd like to bring your attention to the bottom of page 28. There is an infographic there that will be of interest to you. This infographic shows that total inclusive education expenditures of $137.78 million funded from the operating fund exceed the provincial supplemental funding that is received by $43.2 million. I also want to note that additional inclusive education supports are provided through special purpose funds, especially the classroom enhancement fund, and community link. And now I'd like to pass it over to Associate Superintendent Ogden to just provide a few further details about inclusive education. Thank you. Thank you. As a district and within learning services, we are intentionally moving away from a medical model of inclusive education towards a social model of support because our understanding of disability and our responsibility as a public education system has evolved. The medical model locates challenges within the student, often leading to segregation, lowered expectations and parallel systems of support. In contrast, a social model recognizes that it is our environment, structures, and practices that either create barriers or enable full participation and belonging. Learning Services staff have been working to support classroom teachers and resource teams in schools to develop the knowledge, skills, and practices to provide the necessary supports and interventions in neighborhood schools. The proposed staffing changes reflect the need to reduce staffing located in self-contained programs. make them available in neighborhood schools as well as establish supports in schools in response to changing demographic patterns to be clear inclusive education is not about fitting students into existing systems or existing programs it's about designing responsive flexible learning environments where differences are expected valued and supported so The details around the programs next year there are three elementary programs that students will not be enrolled in. It's the core program at Trudeau students. The decision was based on highly positive feedback from classroom teachers who've been supporting teachers in an inclusive environment at their neighborhood catchment schools as well as feedback from staff working with the district resource teacher and the SSB who to date have supported 32 students on a continuing basis in their home neighborhood schools. The other programs at the elementary level are the Excel programs at Franklin and Beaconsfield and similar feedback there.

I also wanted to pass this over to Associate Superintendent Maureen McCray-Stanger to provide a few additional details. Thank you. Thank you through the chair. So the early learning and child care proposal restructures operating and special purpose funds to support all aspects of the department. Of note, the ministry has provided an additional two years of the early learning and child care grant. The district principal position currently assigned to the ELCC department will be vacated as of July 2026, with the current staff member requesting a return to an elementary principal position. This will result in a restructure of the department. The Early Learning and Child Care Manager will continue to support all 19 Strong Start programs, Ready, Set, Learn events, kindergarten transition, and professional development for child care providers. As this position supports the educational aspects of Early Learning and Child Care, this position will be aligned with the Learning and Instruction Team to further support work related to the Ministry of Education and Child Care's Early Learning Framework and the Literacy Supports Initiative K-3. THE MANAGER POSITION WILL REPORT DIRECTLY TO THE DISTRICT PRINCIPAL OF LEARNING AND INSTRUCTION IN THE FALL. OUR 1.0 FTE FACILITIES AND RENTALS TECHNICAL RESOURCE C POSITION WILL BE CREATED TO PROVIDE SUPPORT TO ALL THE CHILDCARE OPERATIONS, INCLUDING LICENSING, NEW SPACES, AND WORKING WITH THE CHILDCARE PROVIDERS, AND WILL REPORT TO THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF FACILITIES. In the ELCC department currently, there is an OSD support position, and that position is proposed as a reduction due to the centralization of the administrative tasks and duties. Redirecting this grant funding will support this restructuring and will reduce operating costs.

Thank you for those further details in response to questions that have been received. On page 30, I'd like to continue and talk about food services. So currently, VSB provides approximately 4,450 meals each day across the district through various meal programs, and that supports students facing food insecurity. The primary source of funding for VSB meal programs are the Ministry of Education and Child Care's Feeding Futures Fund that was presented earlier this evening, and also the National School Food Program Grant. And you heard earlier, we are awaiting the formal announcement of that funding for the next school year. And our plan currently includes a projected amount. So wanted you to be aware. There are further details there about food services, and we're very much looking forward to continuing to provide the current level of supports to students across VSB. If you turn on to page 31, I'd like to talk about print shop operations. And I wanted you to know that effective July 1st, 2026, the district will be discontinuing external printing services and transition the print shop to an internal only service model.

This transition aligns print shop operations more closely with our needs as a district, reduces financial risks associated with variable external demand and contributes to ongoing operating costs containment. While the external work does generate some revenue, it also has significant costs. And this move will actually generate a savings of 0.07 million and allow for simplified equipment replacement plan, avoiding the need to replace a second copier and resulting in one-time capital cost avoidance of also 0.07 million. So I wanted to provide that update. And the last item, is the Vancouver Project Office, or you may hear about it as the VPO. So the Vancouver Project Office is responsible for providing professional project management services for major capital initiatives, including seismic mitigation and other complex infrastructure projects. Historically, the VPO's activities were focused exclusively on capital projects within the VSB and were funded entirely through the capital fund, through the province. In recent years, while no major capital projects have been approved by the province for VSB, the VPO has expanded its role to provide project management services for major capital projects on behalf of other BC school districts. As a result, the district has revised its budgeting approach for the VPO to more accurately reflect the work performed. A portion of the VPO staff salaries are now budgeted in the operating fund under other professionals, which is 0.8 million with a corresponding increase in the operating revenues to reflect cost recovery from participating districts. This allows for more budget transparency, but it also allows the district to retain highly qualified capital project staff and also contributing to the broader capacity by supporting smaller school districts across the province with their capital needs. And thank you for that opportunity. I'll pass it back to Secretary-Treasurer Coughlin.

Thank you. Next slide, please.

Starting on page 49 of the draft financial plan document, you'll find the key risks to our estimates. These risks relate to revenue estimates, expense estimates, potential capital project over expenditure, mitigation of enterprise risks, and addressing the structural deficit. For revenue, it is important to highlight that the estimated grant revenue included in this plan is based on projected enrollment, which will be confirmed in September 2026. Another revenue assumption is that all labor settlement costs and management salary increases will be fully funded by the ministry.

For expense, salary and benefit estimates are based on average salaries and benefit rates for teachers and specific salaries for other employee groups. Variances in average teacher salaries will impact forecasted results and actual cost for substitutes may vary significantly from the historical trends which are reflected in this draft financial plan. Changes in weather patterns may impact utilities and forecasted utilities costs and result in unanticipated expenditures. The staffing levels included in these estimates are based on projected student enrollment. Any material change to student enrollment or the distribution of students by school may impact the staffing levels required in 26-27.

It should also be noted that necessary infrastructure investments, maintenance and upgrades are not funded as part of the ongoing budget, which means that the VSB has a structural deficit which must be addressed. The only funding available to address the risks that materialized during 2026-27 is the contingency established by the Board, which currently has an estimated balance for operating of $6.6 million, which is just under the minimum 1% established by the Board, and $3.72 million for local capital. Next slide, please.

Further opportunities for engagement regarding the draft financial plan are noted on this slide. The Committee of the Whole meeting on April 13th, when inherent rights holders and stakeholders are invited to present to the Board their views on the draft financial plan. A public delegation meeting on April 15th for members of the broader public to present to the Board on this draft financial plan. Written submissions can be made via mail or email and will be accepted until 4 p.m. on April 16, 2026. Trustees will put forward motions to amend the draft financial plan at the April 20, 2026 special public board meeting. And finally, the board will consider the adoption of the 2026-27 financial plan at the April 29 public board meeting. This concludes our presentation. We would be happy to answer any questions that the committee might have. Thank you.

As I noted in my comments, this year is a really unusual year in terms of enrollment patterns because of the changes to the federal immigration policy. And we are very, very closely monitoring enrollment in our schools. Currently, we actually see an enrollment that is even lower than what we've included in our estimates. As students start enrolling in our schools, we adjust staffing if needed to support students that are arriving in our schools. And conversely, if enrollment is lower than what we've projected, we'll have to adjust our class organizations to reflect that. That is a process that is ongoing through the spring and then again in the fall as enrollment is confirmed throughout our schools.

Helen? And what I'd like to say is we're monitoring international education students and projected students very closely. We do know the students that we are connected to and are in the chain to attend and working through the process of visas, et cetera. So we do know that there is a reduction. This is not uncommon across British Columbia and other parts of Canada, as I've had recent meetings. So we are monitoring it very, very closely and we will adapt as we do. And you heard from the secretary treasurer if there are adjustments to student population. The other thing I will say that sometimes where students arrive and where they attend, let's say a hundred students arrive, it may be a student in each of our schools. So there's also that impact of where do students actually attend when they arrive if there is a change. And that's the same when there's a decline in enrollment. It might be dispersed across the district or it may be in particular communities. So that's part of the district team's work is closely monitoring. And I think you heard from the secretary treasurer, there are significant impacts right now and projections are a challenge for everybody across the province in understanding what the continued impacts are going to be of those federal immigration changes. Thank you.

Thanks, Carl, for your question. I would like to say that I can give a lot of confidence that, you know, if there is an increase in international students that will work with our secondary colleagues and we will create space for them as they do bring in additional revenue. So I think your original question, Carl, is, you know, what happens if there's a reduction or an increase. If there's an increase, we will adjust. And then this year, we just haven't experienced it, but there are ongoing conversations that monitor the opportunity and spaces in schools. And if there is a need sometimes to add additional staffing, that will happen to accommodate these students. Thanks.

Flavia? Thank you for the question. First, with respect to the numbers, The revenue is $170,000. The cost, ongoing costs are $170,000, $70,000 for supplies and $100,000 for staffing. And we also have capital costs that are renewed on a periodic basis. So about every four years we have to purchase new equipment and equipment will have to be purchased this year totaling $70,000 of additional expenditure. The savings are the $70,000. Also, one important trend with respect to printing is that the printing requirements have decreased year over year. We also see this as an un... predictable source of revenue, but a very predictable expense that we have to commit to. Also as a school district, we are not set up as a business to, we do not have a business company that can provide these print services to others. So that is a critical element. With respect to the Vancouver project office, This is something that the province has asked us to support other school districts, smaller school districts that do not have the in-house capacity to run capital projects that have been awarded by the province. We do have multi-year contracts in place with the school districts that will support this staffing. It's those contracts and that provincial funding does not exist, then similar decisions will have to be made with respect to the staff. The unionized or non-unionized status of staff do not play a role in this decision-making. It's simply the assured revenue that we have for that department and that staff that is being maintained in VPO.

It is a cost recovery model that it's a full cost recovery. So all our costs, administrative costs and direct costs are being recovered from other school districts.

Thank you, Trustee Richardson. I will just point committee members to page 47 of the financial plan where we've included the capital plan for the school district. So this is our five-year capital plan, which outlines all the major capital project priorities for the school districts. We do have a request in government of over $2 billion of projects. And we know that currently the financial position of the province is not one that is conducive to awarding these projects. But nevertheless, these are very much needed in our school district. And having the workforce on hand to be able to deliver on these projects when they will be approved, hopefully in the next two to three years, it's critical for us to be able to deliver on these major capital projects.

Thank you. The rates are increasing and we don't have yet confirmation from WorkSafe on the specific rate, There was an unusual adjustment in the current year where the WorkSafeBC board has decided to use surplus that they have accumulated to reduce rates across the board. So that was a one-time reduction that was implemented in the current year, and we are expecting that that's not going to continue in future years. So that is reflected here. The core status has not been achieved yet, but that has not been implemented in any of our estimates. currently doesn't impact our rates.

DIRECTOR RIVERA- Through the chair. We have four FTE funded by National School Food Program. So those are incremental FTE for all those positions that we increased half an hour for expansion of the breakfast program and the snack program at the secondary schools. And we added a position to one of our commissary kitchens that was in the 25-26 national school food program. We have 38.95 funded by feeding futures, and we have 8.85 funded by operating. So it's a total of 51.8. Oh, sure. Four national school food program, 38.95 feeding futures, 8.85 with operating. And then also we have an excluded coordinator with feeding futures and we have one office support and two managers with operating.

I don't know if I'm getting lost between the definitions of education assistance and educational assistance, but I just wanted some clarity regarding on page 28 for the inclusive education section, the table has education assistance is 76 million. On page 32 in figure 13 operating revenue and expenses by type the educational assistance line which I think is the larger umbrella term is 61 million. And I just wanted to understand the umbrella and the variation.

So this infographic terminology is like a, so the ministry terminology is educational assistant. We use educational assistant for our infographic. Same overall umbrella. The difference in the dollar value, this is salaries and benefits. On the other table that you're looking at, it's only the salaries component. The benefits has its own line underneath. Thank you.

I have another quick one. So for the range of possible future projections of the full time students as it is going down, is there was there a range of possible projection numbers that were that were available to you for those three years that you picked one or. So I'm just curious to know if there's a range for like for the for 2026 you have 51,859. Is that picked out of a range?

Sorry, I believe so.

Flavio. So, we did not consider a range of projections for the three-year projections. We looked at multiple sources of data, and the team has conducted an in-depth analysis of enrollment trends for each category of students, and only one number was generated for this short-term enrollment projection. When we prepared a longer-term projections, 15 to 20-year projections, that's when we operate more in ranges and different levels of certainty for the enrollment projections that we prepare. Thank you.

Well, I will point you to right above the graph where we say additional inclusive education supports are provided through special purpose funds. So this graph does not include all those supports that you've just mentioned. learning improvement fund funded staffing or classroom enhancement fund or any other specialty funding that we receive is not included in this graph. And the reconciliation of this graph is fairly simple. There are two numbers that are outlined on Schedule 2C. One is under line 110, inclusive education. So that is the allocation to inclusive education in all the different salary categories, plus under 770, student transportation, that is the transportation amount. So those two added together would get you to the 137.78 million. The grant amount, which is the 94.58, it is a bit buried in Ministry of Education tables for the operating fund. There is a special table for transportation that outlines what the component is for students with diverse needs. And then Inclusive Ed has its own category. So that's how those numbers add up together.

Funding, no. So the expense under operating is $137.78. Got that. The funding is $94.58. So other operating funds, um are used to supplement so that is 43.2 million of operating fund that is not specifically derived from inclusive education student enrollment is allocated to support inclusive education in the school district so okay so the follow-up sorry clarity then so if i'm looking at page 18 figure 7 this is where we would find

There's a better table on page 20. The math is already done for you. And there are, so you have to look at both September supplemental funding and February supplemental funding because Inclusive education funding is provided in two separate counts. DIRECTOR HERSEY- Okay.

Is that what you're saying? That is correct. So that is not supplemental funding that is provided by the ministry, but it's general operating funding that we have in the district. And that could be from a variety of revenue sources that is prioritized to support inclusive education in the school district.

We are happy to continue to answer questions as stakeholders or trustees may have questions as they prepare their presentation or consideration for budget changes. Please reach out to the Secretary Treasurer's office and we will endeavor to answer all your questions between now and Committee of the Hall. Thank you. And I will say it's helpful if you do have your questions. If you reach out to us in advance, Carl, you had some questions for us and some others. If we know in advance, it helps us answer them while we're present in the meeting. So if you have those, that's the best way for us to be able to answer your questions. So through the STO office email. Thank you.