Public Announcement from the Board of Living Waters

23 Mar

Dear Catholic Education Stakeholders,

Many of you are probably wondering what is going to happen in our School Division with regards to the 2010/2011 budget announcements made by the Minister of Education, the Honorable Dave Hancock recently.

He announced a 0% increase for the coming year, and yet we all know that our expenses, especially our staff costs will go up according to the AAWEI as will other costs. The Minister has told us that this is not the year to reduce staff since there is an anticipated shortage of professional and para-professional staff in the province and anticipated increases in student enrolment in the next few years.

Living Waters Board has always been fiscally responsible, budgeting carefully and building reserves for such needs as evergreening of technology, capital renewals, support for new programs and new curricula expectations.

The Board also states that our goals and responsibilities to our students remain strong.

Our goal here in Living Waters schools is that every child who enters our doors will graduate successfully from a faith-filled, safe and caring environment. All of our staff: both professional and para-professional are there to support this goal. Custodians and maintenance people are critical to a safe and caring environment in our schools. Every program we have in place is designed to assist students in their education or to enrich their opportunities, thus encouraging them to stay in school. Any course we cut, or staff we remove will disadvantage the students we are here to serve. And it is the most vulnerable who will lose out first.

The Board of Living Waters Catholic regional Division No. 42 is committed to meeting the needs of all of our students. Their successful transitions through school and their ultimate graduation is our priority. Therefore, our investment will be our students.

Sincerely,

Gemma Christie
Board Chair,
Living Waters CRD No. 42