Border Land School Division lowers mill rate for upcoming school budget

Border Land School Division passed a budget of $43.1 million, an increase of $2.2 million from last year. As it is a reassessment year, the division lowered the mill rate by 0.59 to sit at 11.61, which means a home valued at $288,000 or less could see little to no education tax payable on their property tax bill.

The province has changed the way credits are being done on education taxes as it has discarded the Education Property Tax Credit and implemented the Homeowners Affordability Tax Credit, which has a maximum credit of $1,500.

The operating budget increased by 3.63 percent to $42 million, mostly due to salaries. In an email to The Carillon, BLSD stated the province announced a 1.5 percent increase (or $310,085) in new funding for a total of $20.8 million.

“To put it in perspective, salaries increased by approximately $1 million per year, so the provincial funding does not cover the increases we experience to maintain status quo.”

The email stated that a survey found that the public supported small class sizes so the board felt it was important to keep the current staffing formula in place.

The capital budget more than doubled hitting $1.1 million for expenses such as the Elmwood office renovation ($150,000); W.C. Miller wheelchair ramp ($165,000); renovations and improvements ($110,069); and asphalt, concrete, parking lots construction ($102,500).

“Expenses shift from year to year depending on needs,” read the email. “For example, last year we budgeted $396,000 for capital projects plus (we) used $100,000 out of capital reserve, this year there is $1.1 (million) of capital projects plus $47,000 of projects being completed from capital reserves.

“We have depleted many of the capital reserves over the past few years as requested by the province. Without the reserves and without provincial increases that match our increasing costs, we are left to fund by taxing.”