For the Calgary Catholic School District, this year’s budget is proving more unpredictable than first predicted.
Fluctuating funding, inflation, and supply trade issues have all factored into the Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) 2026-27 budget prep.
Based on preliminary budget decisions, the district is forecasting a modest funding increase and an overall deficit for the 2026- 27 year, which will be covered by savings. While not sustainable, the district has elected to funnel every dollar possible to the classroom, according to the March 18 Board of Trustees meeting agenda.
“The district will continue to closely monitor the use of savings and assess opportunities to reduce reliance on surplus as conditions allow,” the agenda reads.
Along with other various costs, inflation is pushing the district into the red. Both schools and central departments are feeling the effects of inflation, as many budgets for supplies and services have not increased to match year-over-year inflation, the agenda document reads.
The ongoing war in the Middle East may be an unpredictable variable for the district, John McDonald, Deputy Chief Superintendent, said during the March 18 meeting.
“When you look at prices of oil and how that affects commodities around the world and how it affects different things that we need to deal with, around utilities, it’s always a risk,” he said.
Global increases in technology costs, on the other hand, should not impact the CCSD.
“We preloaded, we got a whole bunch of Chromebooks anticipating this (technology) boom, and so we’ll have those in inventory,” Superintendent of Finance and Business, Vanessa Klettke, said during the meeting.
Both Klettke and McDonald said that in moving away from paper textbooks, the new, yearly renewal model of most online learning resources is less than ideal.
“One piece about software licenses is that they charge yearly. If you buy a textbook, that will last longer. We’re finding with digital licensing that because of those renewals every year, it just keeps going up,” McDonald said, adding that some services are paid for in American dollars, another varying cost factor.
With the provincial government’s commitment to hiring 3,000 teachers annually, Klettke couldn’t say for sure how provincial funding will factor into hiring costs.
“Because of the recently settled collective agreement, the average cost of a teacher will be up because the bottom salary (will be higher),” she said.
“That doesn’t mean it couldn’t still give us a positive variance in funding. Maybe a little more funding than the cost, we’ll have to see.”
The district should have its preliminary funding profile shortly, and the 2026-27 Funding Manual for School Authorities in early April, before finalizing its budget in May. Until then, Klettke said the district has done all they can.
Citing funding uncertainty, district trustees voted unanimously against making any changes to their honoraria.
