Calgary Catholic School District passes budget, says provincial funding falls short

Calgary Catholic School Centre (File photo)

The Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) has passed its budget for the upcoming school year and said it's operating with a deficit of $21.5 million.

The CCSD board of trustees approved the plan on Wednesday, saying it was built on an understanding that the "level of funding provided by the province falls substantially short of meeting the needs" of its students.

"The CCSD has seen significant enrolment growth year-over-year without appropriate funding to address the growth," said board chair Shannon Cook in a news release.

"In preparing this budget, the CCSD balanced rising costs, inflationary pressures and insufficient funding. Very difficult decisions were made regarding the allocation of limited resources to support our students' needs, while still ensuring they receive high-quality learning opportunities."

In 2024-25, the CCSD budgets revenues of $688.5 million and expenditures of $710 million, which means the deficit of $21.5 million will need to be covered by savings.

With the district expecting more than 2,000 new students by the end of September, in addition to the 2,730 students added last year, the CCSD says it continues to face rising costs and reduced spending power due to inflation.

CCSD says if the trend continues "the district will be unable to sustain current spending levels by drawing upon savings in the future."

"The use of district savings to balance this budget allows the CCSD to continue to provide high-quality Catholic education to our students," said acting chief superintendent John McDonald.

"While the district has been able to balance its budget for many years using savings, our reserves will be significantly depleted in this budget."

The CCSD says over the past five years, costs, including staffing, utilities and insurance have continued to rise while provincial grant rates have remained the same.