Surrey Board of Education seeks public input for 2023-24 budget
The Surrey Board of Education is encouraging staff, parents/guardians and the larger communities of Surrey, White Rock and Barnston Island to share their priorities for the 2023-24 school year in the district’s annual budget consultation.
“Each year we reach out to our communities to tell us what their priorities are for the coming school year,” said Board Chair Laurie Larsen. “In the past we used to have in-person sessions, but we moved to an online survey a few years ago. This significantly increased the number of responses received.”
“We want to hear from everyone, so we’ll continue engaging our communities online and through other more traditional methods. Community feedback is so valuable.”
Participants are encouraged to provide input through a variety of channels, including:
- an online survey (available in English, Punjabi, Hindi, Simplified Chinese, Arabic, Tagalog and Spanish)
- email (consultations@surreyschools.ca)
- traditional mail (14033 92 Ave., Surrey, B.C., V3V 0B7); or
- through your local school's Parent Advisory Council (PAC) representative.
“These past few years, our district has been facing unprecedented budget challenges due to inflation and the rising cost of goods and services,” said trustee Terry Allen, who also serves as Budget Chair. “It is more important than ever that our community takes the time to complete this survey and provide us with their priorities so the board can make informed decisions that reflect our community needs."
In last year’s survey, class size/composition was the leading concern with almost 2,000 respondents listing this as their top priority. Support for students with diverse abilities and disabilities, mental health services, investments in technology, career education and Programs of Choice rounded out last year’s top five priorities/areas of concern. School capacity was also listed as a top concern.
Priorities identified by the community will be taken into consideration under the ‘special purpose’ portion of the budget (see infographic here) and will not impact the pre-allocated portions already committed to operating and capital costs (i.e. school construction, additions, seismic upgrades, teachers, educational assistants, programs/services and supplies).
Submissions will be accepted until end of day, Feb. 28.
