At their first meeting aired live online, 91原创 board of education adopted a $242 million budget for the 2017/18 school year on Tuesday evening.

Secretary-treasurer Brian Iseli went through the annual budget before trustees voted to adopt it.

Iseli said there are currently a lot of unknowns about how much the provincial government鈥檚 new health care payrolltax will impact education in 91原创.

鈥淥ne thing we do know is we will be paying a higher cost than we did when we paid MSP premiums,鈥� he told trustees on Tuesday.

The School District is one of the largest employers in 91原创 with more than 2,500 employees. The new health tax has been brought in to replace MSP premiums, which are being eliminated in B.C.

鈥淲e do know that for about six months we will be paying both the MSP premiums and the new tax, so that will be a higher cost to us. But right now all the associations are trying to get clarity as to what this health tax will mean for education,鈥� said Iseli in a later interview.

鈥淣ow that we鈥檝e completed last year鈥檚 budget we are already working on next year so it鈥檚 something we need to address.鈥�

The five per cent of businesses with payrolls of more than $1.5 million will pay the full 1.95 per cent health tax. Businesses with payrolls between $500,000 and $1.5 million will pay a portion of the full tax. Those that fall below $500,000 will not pay anything.

Some of the highlights from the budget include $1.16 million for purchasing 27 portables to address the exploding population of students coming into 91原创, mainly in Willoughby.

鈥淟ast year we bought 20 portables. Eleven were paid for by the district and the others were purchased by the province,鈥� Iseli told trustees.

鈥淲e ordered another three portables, which are being installed this week. We have ordered another four portables, which won鈥檛 arrive until the end of the school year but we wanted to get ahead of it knowing we will need them for next year.鈥�

Where those portables will be located hasn鈥檛 yet been determined, he said.

The efforts to save the small gym at 91原创 Secondary cost the district $913 million in seismic upgrades. A joint project between the district, the Township and private donors paved the way for a new track at Walnut Grove Secondary at a cost of $520,000 for the district.

In total, $950,000 was spent on new furniture for schools.

91原创 School District enjoyed another financially successful year with international students bringing in roughly $15 million to the district.

monique@langleytimes.com
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