The auditor and treasurer for the Bluewater District School Board (BWDSB) announced a surplus of $1.4 million at the last board meeting, but the final numbers are still in the red.
"It's an in-year surplus," said Treasurer Brenda Booth after the meeting on November 18. "It goes directly into the deficit that has accumulated."
The deficit she is speaking of goes back to 2002 when the two school boards of Grey and Bruce County amalgamated to become Bluewater. A pay equity plan left them in deficit, one that, until this in-year surplus, sat at $3.3 million. On the 07/08 financial statements, the debt is reduced to $1.9 million.
"This is the first year in a number of years we've been able to have an in-year surplus," said Booth.
BWDSB chair Ross King said he wants this year to start a new trend for the board.
"I'm really hoping we can get rid of all this ... I call it an albatross around our neck that's been with us for ten years," said King, adding that the board was aiming for a further reduction of $1 million for the 08/09 financial year.
Booth confirmed that goal, but said there was no way to tell if the board was on track, yet. They will be examining the budget and financial records of the board in the next couple weeks to see if the goal is reachable and what changes need to be made.
Booth said the Province of Ontario deems school board deficit illegal. She said a deficit that sits around one per cent of the operating budget tends to stay under the radar, and that it's important for the Province to see that a school board is making sincere efforts to reduce any existing deficits.
The BWDSB operating budget on the 07/08 financial statements was $190 million.
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