June 7th, 2017

Waterloo Region District School Board continues to work hard with students, staff, parents and caregivers, and community partners, to ensure education and student success is a partnership.

This is why we called on you to participate in our annual budget survey, from February 21 to March 10, and provide input on the funding priorities and what is important for the WRDSB community.

“Staff strive to prepare and plan for each school year, but we can’t do it alone. As we innovate tomorrow by educating today, families and community members play a major role in the process,” said John Bryant, director of education. “I’d like to thank individuals who took the time to participate in our annual budget survey, and help strengthen the learning that happens at school, each day.”

The results are in and we would like to share the highlights with you as the Board of Trustees head into the budget process in June. More than 962 individuals completed the survey and the areas of focus for budget planning, include:

• Respondents felt that classroom resources, professional development for teachers and online math resources were essential to supporting high levels of student achievement in the area of mathematics.
• Respondents felt that early identification and intervention of at-risk learners, literacy and numeracy supports, cooperative education, and alternative programming were essential resources/programs to support more students in graduating from secondary school.
• Respondents provided key themes and suggestions, which included: Additional classroom supports (class sizes, promote best practices amongst teachers), continued wellness support for students, school condition improvements and energy efficiency.

“As representatives of the community, we have a sense of what’s important to them. However, having this annual feedback during budget conversations helps guide us through the process,” said Scott McMillan, chair of the board. “Education is a partnership. This feedback is important to all trustees to ensure we plan successfully for another school year.”

WRDSB is funded by the Ministry of Education and is governed by legislative and contractual obligations that we must adhere to, such as class sizes and staffing levels.

“From a business perspective, community members play a critical role in helping us shape our budget and guiding us as a board, while adhering to ministry requirements,” said Matthew Gerard, coordinating superintendent of business services and treasurer of the board.

The results of the survey will be shared with our Board of Trustees during the budget process in June. Once the budget is approved by the Board of Trustees, details will be shared on www.wrdsb.ca.

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