The Finance Committee with the Board’s newly elected trustees was held at the Education Centre on Wednesday, January 18. Watch the full meeting or view the agenda for details.

The meeting began with an update on funds raised through business development from June 2022 to December 31, 2022. Food security, technology and Indigenous education were the primary focus areas of fundraising. For food security, which includes support for the District meal program and school level initiatives, $296,404 was raised. For technology, $303,498 was raised. Indigenous Education received $25,000 through a grant application for an Indigenous carving project at Van Tech Secondary. During this time period, $90,000 was also raised for scholarships, $88,350 for miscellaneous school programs/activities and $175,000 in-kind donations were gifted. Funds raised between June 2022-December 2022 totaled $803,252 with an additional $175,000 Gift-In-Kind donations. 

District staff also covered the status of several grant applications and provided updates on new District sponsors including the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, the Vancouver Firefighters Charity and the Glowbal Group. 

Next, an update on the Student and Family Affordability Fund was provided. This one-time funding was provided by the Ministry of Education and Child Care to improve students’ access to meals as well as to offset costs for school supplies and other financial pressures. Of the $4.2 million that was allocated for the Vancouver School District, $1.4 million had been spent as of December 31, 2022. 

The committee was then presented amended budget updates. Due to an increase in general enrolment and enrolment in the international program, the report showed a favourable variance of $3.8 million. However, final budget numbers are still to be determined. According to staff, appropriation of surplus will still be required to balance the budget. The final budget will be approved at the February 27, 2023 Board meeting. 

To keep up to date with all of the District’s committee and Board meetings, see the calendar for meeting dates, agendas and livestream links. All recordings of past meetings are available on the District’s YouTube channel.