Discussions

It’s not that they can’t find something to spend the money on so imo no rebate needed.  
 
Just get on it- spend it wisely and put it towards something that directly benefits the kids on a daily basis.

surplus means too much of something,not needed now,use later ect ect,spend it wisely,wisely is not a word that government,or bsd members know the meaning of,what might benefit "the kids" would be more money in the pockets of their tax paying parents, like a rebate?

Would be much appreciated.

Would be much appreciated.

Or pay maybe their employees better!

Considering that this year was an election year, AND there is no collective agreement between the province and teachers, AND the current arbitration that BSD is in with the teachers... I’m super impressed that they had to foresight to watch their purse strings and keep a lid on things. There are many students and teachers and schools who all are in NEED of things to ensure student success, it would be nice to see that surplus put back where it was intended, the schools and classrooms.

like it if the city of Brandon did their budget this way?  
 
"hey, we finished budget deliberations and taxes have to be raised 2.3%" and then 'oops, did the budget wrong and we have a 7 million dollar surplus" I would want some money back!! Why should the school division be any different? This is certainly not the first year BSD has reported a surplus!

Oscar: Here are our final actual costs for this year.  
Michael: Mmm... okay.  
Oscar: As you can see, we did pretty well, so...  
Michael: Yes. Yes, I can see... that we did indeed. Why don't you explain this to me like I am an eight-year old.  
Oscar: Alright, well this is the overall budget for this fiscal year along the x-axis...  
Michael: Yes.  
Oscar: Right there.  
Michael: There's the x-ax...icks.  
Oscar: You can see clearly on this page that we have a surplus of $4300.  
Michael: Mmhmm, okay.  
Oscar: But we have to spend that by the end of the day or it will be deducted from next year's budget.  
Michael: Why don't you explain this to me like I'm five.  
Oscar: Your mommy and daddy give you ten dollars to open up a lemonade stand. So you go out and you buy cups and you buy lemons and you buy sugar. And now you find out that it only costs you nine dollars.  
Michael: Ho-oh!  
Oscar: So you have an extra dollar.  
Michael: Yeah.  
Oscar: So you can give that dollar back to mommy and daddy, but guess what? Next summer...  
Michael: I'll be six.

For me this sums up everything wrong with the way the BSD conducts its budget process…or maybe it is the way the provincial laws are constructed around the budget process. I’m not sure but it certainly should make all of us stand up and ask why?  
 
>>"Because it’s in that year’s budget, we have an obligation to spend it," said BSD chair Linda Ross.  
 
…and I’m keying in on the words “we have an obligation to spend it.” This is just wrong on so many levels. Ross goes on to further say if they could designate the funds to a reserve it would help them plan better but right now we’ve put them into a designated surplus, but that does mean that we have to expend them “fairly quickly.”  
Why is it structured this way? Why can’t it be returned to the taxpayer? Why can’t it get pushed to next year’s budget? Why is BSD “obligated” to spend it? Maybe, just maybe, if the budget wasn’t structured on a “use it” or “lose it” basis the thinking and methodology by which BSD operates would actually change.  
 
We’re not talking pocket change here. It was stated that the BSD could have a surplus of 4% but was sitting at a surplus of 6.1% or $5,587,460.00 and it has since grown to 6.7%. Clearly this shows that the BSD has either charged the taxpayer too much in taxes or (I have a hard time believing this one) actually saved, or heaven forbid didn’t spend the budgeted amount on certain items or in some departments.  
I need someone to verify my math. If 6.1% = $5,587,460.00 does that mean 4% (allowable) would be $3,663,908.00? And if so, would that mean the surplus BSD need to “spend quickly” equals $1,923,552.00??? The article doesn’t state in dollars how much the excess surplus is but as I stated above, this sure doesn’t sound like pocket change to me.  
 
For me personally, two things need to happen. One, the BSD needs to lose the autonomous ability to raise taxes to meet their budget requirements and two, the province needs to accelerate their promise to shift the burden of tax collection from property taxes to a percentage of income tax.  
 
By-the-way, this isn’t a discussion about “pay the employees more.” This is about a surplus and the mentality that it needs to be spent “fairly quickly” to remain onside. Sad really. The BSD has already approved inflationary and expected increases in expenses for next year. But since they already have a surplus which means they didn’t need everything they already collected this year to the tune of 2.1% they should literally be able to maintain the amounts in this year’s budget again next year and still cover most, if not all, of the increases in expenses they are anticipating. This would be good news for us taxpayers. Although I can almost guarantee that won’t happen and we’ll never see a reduction in tax as long as the current system remains in place.  
 
One last question, does anyone know if there is an actual “org chart” of the BSD for both administration and the schools? I’m going to go out on a limb here and say one probably doesn’t exist. If it did, I think you would be absolutely shocked at the hierarchy, not to mention the number of support people in each classroom. Just saying …

I thought they cut hours for some support staff due to financial reasons... was that reason a lie or is that where the surplus is coming from?

I’m pretty sure the cut hours from support staff doesn’t come close to the surplus amount. Taking an hour or two away from someone could possibly mean they don’t need that employee for all those hours anymore.

I am not a fan of a obligation to spend. I am also not in favor of giving it to the taxpayers or Province. Actually I think also being able to run a surplus for maybe a rainy day fund controlled by the BSD is something that can be helpful. Both in budgeting and helping the BSD with long term thinking not involving too many other hands in the til  
I truly think any reasonable cost savings should be rewarded to the BSD.  
 
When I saw costs saving the top of the list is not staff cuts etc. From Choosing different suppliers to energy savings. Heat cranked down when school is out. New windows supplied n/c with the Feds Program. I would think before school mil rates lowered or Provincial claw backs happen we think.  
Be it unidentified repairs to emergency repairs to paved basketball courts etc. Now the coin today may not be much but be it any future surplus or a rainy day fund as part as our budget plan. If there is one now then I suggest we slap it there. Pick a dollar amount we would want in there and leave it until we neeeeed it. Not just want it because it is there.

For a lot of places, the police dept, fire dept, the hospital, and hello.. the City of Brandon. They all have to spend it or they lose it on the next year.

on the inner workings of BSD because I simply don't know anything about it, but I will comment on the inadequate facilities at my sons school. Last year they would sit in the school library (tables and chairs) to eat their lunch, if the children needed something warmed up there was a microwave and an adult to supervise and help in doing so. This year there is no microwave and they eat their lunch on the gymnasium floor. With the millons we pay in Brandon every year in taxes our children sit on the floor to eat? How sanitary is that? I personally think that this is totally unacceptable!

HELLO all these places ALSO are spending our tax dollars,easy come easy go,when the money is free flowing,and never stops,or even slows down,its party time on hard working tax payers dimes!!!!!!!!!!!

yup! and I would like to know how much is spent on employee's lunches and office snacks! How much is charged to corporate credit cards?

The BSD has been working hard to put a bit of money away for years for the new school and so serious up keep to the other schools in our division. Our provincial gov likes to approve projects but will not approve them to put money into reserve funds for the projects. So the extra money is actually for up keep, that has been expected and needed.The BSD board ( which is very unusual for me to proclaim) deserves a high five !!  
And I must add.... poor reporting Brandon Sun !!

Your barely coherent posts make me think the school you attended should have had a few more dollars invested in it.  
 
Anyways, no school division should ever have a surplus unless they are saving it for a big capital project. If you have money left over, hire a few more EAs or buy some textbooks or start a free lunch program.  
 
There is always something to spend money on that will improve a kid's life.

BEBOP1978 – how do you know that this money is actually for up keep? If that is true wouldn’t upkeep fall under a “maintenance” line item on the budget and get costed and spent accordingly? Not put into an allowable surplus. The issue is that the BSD surpassed the amount of their allowable surplus and quite dramatically I might add and are now in a hurry up offense to get the money spent to get back on side. Will there be any oversight to how it gets spent? Probably not. But you can guarantee it will get spent. The process needs to get changed. The rules need to get changed.  
 
The school budget for 2017/2018 was $102,004,700 and the 2018/2019 was $104,279,300. A difference of $2,274,600. Almost the amount the BSD is now over in their allowable surplus. They didn’t need to raise taxes last year and as a result now, they don’t need to raise the taxes for 2019/2020. They should be able to operate at $104,279,300 for 2019/2020 and stay within the confines of the allowable surplus. They won’t of course and instead we’ll see the usual “going to need about a 6% to 8% increase” followed by a “hey we sharpened our pencils and got it down to 2.5%” citing cost of living increases and next year’s budget will increase to $106,886,282.00. This budget is almost twice as much as the entire City of Brandon budget and needs to be brought under control.  
 
Additionally, when I hear that kids are eating their lunch on the dirty floor of a gymnasium, I really must shake my head and wonder why. How is this acceptable in today’s day and age? Shame on the BSD for even allowing this. If they really need to spend the money go out and buy some damn tables and chairs and give the kids the decency of a proper lunch. Maybe get a few microwave ovens while they are at.

Is all about our children. If money is saved then it should be used to improve the lives and educational opportunities of the kids. On the other hand the school division should not be a allowed to request tax increases on a yearly basis. People’s purses are not a never ending cash cow to be milked.

Notice the common denominator in your list, all tax funded unions eh  
 
Just because it happens all the time across the board doesn't normalize it, it makes no sense whatsoever to be forced to spend to avoid losing the same next year, I really wonder how that whole scheme got started in the first place ?

So Sorry ,Did, Not ..Know .. I Was Being '''Graded On :: My Grammar,Grammer,Grammur??How About Let The Adults Talk About Impoortant Issues That Affect Tax Paying Working People,And U Just Cry About Global Warming Or The Easter Bunny Not Being Real:

True though!

1.) cdog has a point. You are hardly coherent.  
 
2.) Short-sighted people like you are the reason why younger generations are protesting about such issues as global warming. Because unlike those of 2 or 3 generations ago, the young people are going to inherit this mess.  
 
To contribute to the topic as a whole, no rebates. That would again be short-sighted.  
 
These days, it doesn't hurt to have a rainy day fund. Be it for constructing a new school, or even something as unforeseen as a ransomware attack. So far, this has mostly proven to be big in the US, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time before it crosses the border.