South Peace Historical Society

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  • Table of Contents

    • Part 1: First Nations of the Peace River Region
    • Part 2: The Fur Trade Era
    • Part 3: Transportation and Communication
    • Part 4: Old Timers and the Price of Land
    • Part 5: Dawson Creek: The Story of the Community
    • Part 6: Mysteries, Adventures and Indian Legends
    • Part 7: Arts, Crafts and Recreation
    • Part 8: Agriculture
    • Part 9: Church Histories
    • Part 10: Schools
    • Part 11: Health Care
    • Part 12: Industries and Enterprises
    • Part 13: Policing the Peace
    • Part 14: Pouce Coupe, Rolla, and Other South Peace Communities
    • Part 15: Chetwynd and the Fort St. John Area
    • Part 16: The Alberta Peace
    • Part 17: Natural History of the Peace River Region
    • Part 18: Interviews with Old Timers
    • Part 19: Remembering Our Veterans

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BN10-55: Longer School Days, But Less of Them Next Year

Recent History – 2003

April 23, 2003 — Jamie Dirom, Daily News Staff

School District 59 plans to shave eight days from the upcoming school year to help cover a budget shortfall projected at $1.1 million. The move is expected to save the district $240,000, and will be accompanied by other measures – including cuts in technology spending, resource centre operations and dipping into reserve funds – to help cover the deficit.

Funding to schools will remain at current levels, although there are some increased costs at the school level that will necessitate some budget trimming. With eight days less than the province’s standard school calendar, school days will be roughly 14 minutes longer to meet provincial requirements for instructional time, said Superintendent Mike Downey.

The reduction in classroom days will cut costs by decreasing the amount spent on busing and support staff. While the board needs to cut roughly $800,000 less than it did a year ago, Downey said making cuts is never an easy task.

“I think this was as difficult for the board this year as it was last year,” he said. “It becomes more difficult with each round of cuts.”

But the bottom line for the school district is that services will remain the same.

“We will be able to meet the shortfall without sacrificing the services to students,” Downey said.

A great deal of input was received by the board from parents, staff and the community – all of which were given careful consideration, he added. Over the next month, the district will be developing a proposed calendar which must then be finalized by the end of May.

Under provincial legislation, the school board is required to adopt a final budget by June 30.

This article is taken from the Peace River Block Daily News, Dawson Creek, with the permission of the publisher. The Daily News retains all rights relating to this material. The information in this article is intended solely for research or general interest purposes.

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BN10-56: NLC Breaks Ground on New Regional Administration Building »

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