The Board of Trustees (the Board) of Rocky View Schools (RVS) today approved the 2024/25 operating budget. The vast majority of the $326.6 million budget will go directly to schools in areas such as classroom and school staffing, numeracy and literacy, inclusion supports, Indigenous knowledge-building, supporting student and staff wellness, technology and school-based supplies and resources. 

“The Board established our budget priorities to provide direct resources to schools to support student learning, support student and staff wellness, and enhance facilities and technology infrastructure, while targeting a fiscally responsible operating reserve balance at the end of the 2024/25 fiscal year,” said Board Chair Fiona Gilbert. “This budget addresses these priorities and provides maximum funding and supports directly to schools where they can have the greatest positive impact on student success.”

RVS expects to welcome 748 new students next September, an enrolment growth of 2.6 per cent. To support climbing enrolments and increasing complexities in classrooms, more than 92 per cent of instructional dollars will go directly to schools with the remaining dollars managed centrally to support schools and school staff. The division will maintain class size guidelines by adding new teachers to support the growing student population with 1,416 teaching staff in total. Inclusive learning environments will be supported in schools by 330 learning assistants across the division. RVS is investing $500,000 above the provincial specialized learning grants received to provide additional school-based inclusion support.

Students will be further supported through divisional staff working with schools. Approximately 42 full-time positions will be working directly in schools assisting classroom teachers. Positions include speech language pathologists, psychologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, family school liaisons and learning specialists. Investment into various learning opportunities and environments such as two online schools, career and dual credit opportunities, Community Learning Centres, Building Futures and the RVS Mechanics Training Centre will continue.

“The Board’s support of these unique offerings demonstrates their ongoing commitment to engaging students in diverse learning opportunities and preparing them for the future,” said Superintendent of Schools, Greg Luterbach. “Connecting students with career-related work experience before they leave high school can help set them on a path to become successful adults.”

The budget requires $1.8 million of operating reserves and $500,000 in unspent system administration grants to balance. Reserves at the end of 2024/25 are projected to be just above the provincially mandated range set by the government.  

The Weighted Moving Average (WMA) funding model used by the provincial government continues to disadvantage growing divisions like RVS as it does not provide funding for all students every year. The WMA means that RVS will receive $3.3 million less next school year than if government funded every student at the base student grant. This lost operational funding could have been used for additional teachers, learning assistants, caretakers, technology and more to further support students.  

“The Board remains focused on student learning and success and is committed to providing our 29,000+ students with a world-class education. We are grateful to all RVS staff who work hard every day to maximize our limited resources and provide the best learning experience for all students,” said Gilbert. “Ongoing increases in provincial funding are needed to ensure all RVS students receive the education they deserve to achieve their absolute best.”

The Board will submit its 2024/25 Budget to Alberta Education following this approval. RVS’ 2024/25 Budget will be posted to the RVS website shortly.

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