The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor The Creighton School Division is bracing for a potential drop in provincial funding that could be as high as half a million dollars. That's the word from Director of Education Bob Smith, who said preliminary indications are the Saskatchewan government's new education funding model does not bode well for his division. 'We are anticipating a significant reduction in revenue of $400,000 to $500,000,' he said. But Creighton and other school divisions across Saskatchewan will not know their provincial funding levels for sure until March 21, when the province unveils its 2012-13 budget. During the past three years, revenue allocations for all school divisions in the province have been based on the 2008-09 level while a new funding model was developed. If funding is cut substantially, Smith expects the division will be given a transition period of two or three years to scale back its budget rather than do it all at once. 'So that will help and hopefully we'll deal with that through the process of attrition,' he said. 'When somebody resigns or retires at the end of the year, we'll have to look, given the resources, whether we can afford to replace them, or do we have to realign our staff?' Less staff Smith said he is not expecting any layoffs but added that with less money ultimately comes less staff. The division projects to spend just over $6 million this year. Enrollment at the division's lone school, Creighton Community School, is around 470 students. Budgetary matters were among the items on the agenda when the Creighton School Board met Feb. 15. Other highlights from the meeting: The board accepted the resignations of three long-serving teachers effective this June. Wanda and Gary Cluff have announced their retirements, as has Janice Imrie. Trustees commended them for their contributions to the education of Creighton students, and wished them the best in their retirement. Teachers Janel Pearson and Stacy Becker gave a presentation regarding the implementation of a new program at the school, '40 Development Assets.' Development assets are described as the basic building blocks of healthy development that kids need to grow up as healthy, competent and caring individuals. Youth with these assets are more likely to thrive, and less likely to engage in risky behaviours. Creighton Community School, along with a number of other Saskatchewan schools, is implementing the program with the goal of maximizing the number of assets that both the school and the community can provide to the youth in the school and the community. Trustees commended the presentation and look forward to seeing the results of the program.
