Ahead of this school year, the Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) projected its accumulated surplus from operations/operating reserves, excluding school generated funds, would be $7.4 million by the end of 2025-2026.
Now, as we near the year’s end, the actual dollars saved is nearly triple that number.
CCSD Superintendent, Finance and Business Vanessa Klettke, said that this year’s savings of $28.8 million are largely due to staffing.
“When over 80 per cent of your budget is related to people, even a vacancy of one month, which is only four weeks, can add up significantly with over 6,000 staff,” she said during the May 6 CCSD Board of Trustees meeting.
“We have over 3,000 teachers and we don’t budget line by line for every teacher, we have to make some assumptions. As our teachers are getting newer, the average cost has stayed relatively flat, which you wouldn’t expect.”
As the district is projecting a deficit next year, the extra cash will be rolling into 2026-27. Klettke said the full budget will be presented at the next board meeting on May 20.
As shared during the March 18 Board of Trustees meeting, the district is forecasting a slight funding increase with an overall deficit for 26-27. Though unsustainable, the deficit will use savings, including the nearly $30 million from this year, to balance the budget.
