Vancouver Board of Education

Update: The timeline for the development of the 2020-2021 budget has been adjusted.  This decision was made with consideration of impacts of COVID-19 on our school communities and District operations.

Divisional Budget

The link below is to the Divisional Budget document for the development of the 2020-2021 Annual Budget.  The three columns in the document are (left to right) the preliminary annual budget for 2019-2020, the Year to Date actual results to May 31, 2020 and the Draft Base Budget for 2020-2021.  The Draft Base Budget is the detail for the Summary Schedules (2, 2A and 2B) on page 7-9 of the Draft Annual Budget for 2020-2021 released to stakeholder groups on June 5^th, 2020. 

Divisional Budget

2020/2021 Budget Timeline 

The budget email address (budget2020-2021@vsb.bc.ca)  is now active for accepting written submissions regarding budget priorities for development of the 2020-2021 operating budget.  For background, please refer to the Budget Development Process document (linked here).  All written submissions to the Board are considered to be public documents.  The Board, therefore, reserves the right to make any submissions available to the public.

The Finance Committee will be receiving a draft operating fund budget on May 13, 2020.  Questions or comments on the draft budget for the Committee of the Whole meeting scheduled for May 20, 2020 are also submitted through this email address and will be presented at the meeting.

If you prefer to provide a hard copy of your submission, including perhaps supporting material, please mail to:

Secretary Treasurer's Office
Vancouver School Board 
2nd Floor - 1580 West Broadway 
Vancouver, BC  V6J 5K8 
Attention:  Administrative Office Assistant

Budget Engagement Summary Report:

Engagement with the District’s formal stakeholder groups and the broader public is part of the annual budget development process. Please see the summary report here for the 2020-2021 Budget Development Engagement.

Questions and Answers:

• + Why has the budget development timeline changed?

  The timeline for the development of the 2020-2021 budget has been changed as a result of the uncertainties related to the COVID-19 pandemic.  District staff required additional time to consider the financial impacts on the budget the pandemic created as well as how to continue to engage the community while maintaining social distancing.

• + What is the status of the budget for next year?  Is there any new funding or cuts?

  While the original intent was to create a status quo budget that might provide some spending increases, the pandemic has created significant uncertainties that have now made that impossible, resulting in a deficit position.  The District will be balancing the budget by using prior years' surpluses.  Respecting the circumstances we are currently experiencing, there are no planned changes to staffing outside of those that result from changes in student enrolment.

• + Will you still engage the public and broader committee about the budget development?

  Engagement about the 2020-2021 budget development will continue, although differently than initially planned.  Input from the District's stakeholder groups was gathered through in-person meetings in January and February.  In addition, Committee-of-the-Whole meetings previously held had delegation presentations.  A draft operating fund budget for 2020-2021 will be presented to the Finance Committee on May 13, 2020.  another Committee-of-the-Whole will be held on May 20, 2020, where stakeholders and members of the public can provide input and ask questions about the draft operating fund budget.

  Online budget engagement was planned to launch in mid-March.  However, because of the changing landscape with the COVID-19 pandemic response, it was decided to forgo the engagement at this time.  In addition, because the budget will be balanced using surplus funds, there is no meaningful option for a broad-based online engagement.  Depending on revisions made to the draft operating fund budget after the May 20, 2020 Committee of the Whole meeting, additional opportunities to inform the community will be created to share those revisions and obtain feedback.  Members of the public are welcome and encouraged to share their input either by writing to the Secretary Treasurer's Office or providing input via email (budget2020-2021@vsb.bc.ca) .  A budget consultation summary report will be provided to share input about the 2020-2021 budget development provided by the District's stakeholder groups and members of the public.

 Budget Correspondence and Delegation Submissions Received to Date:

• February 14, 2020 
• March 10, 2020
• March 13, 2020
• March 23, 2020
• May 8, 2020
• June 22, 2020

Revised Timeline for 2020-2021 Budget