The Greater Victoria school board has approved a balanced budget for this year with a $16,000 surplus.
The $172-million operating budget for 2013-14 protects jobs and programs despite rising costs and projected enrolment of 18,455 full-time school-age students — a drop of 258 from last September.
District costs continue to outstrip revenues by more than $8 million a year. The district has erased that structural deficit each year by finding savings or additional revenue from international students, building rentals and investments.
Years of underfunding from the B.C. government have made it difficult for the district to maintain its programs, said board vice-chairwoman Bev Horsman in a statement. “We’re relieved that we didn’t need to be cutting services to our students in this budget.”
