Open letter to Minister Fassbender: On behalf of the Richmond Board of Education, I am writing this open letter to you to express our extreme dismay at the recent directive that school districts across the province will be required to share up to 50 per cent of the costs of major capital projects. This announcement sets a dangerous new precedent as the Ministry of Education has always been responsible for capital project costs in the past. It also abdicates responsibility for the continued safety of our school children. While cost sharing is an excellent political platform and sound bite, in this case it hides a multitude of faults, not the least of which is a misunderstanding of how the budget process works.
Firstly, we take great exception to the methodology used to determine the amount of "surplus cash" that is available to contribute to the cost sharing of capital projects. We have been informed by Ministry staff that Richmond has $26 million in surplus funds. The $26 million is made of three general sources, each of which we would like to address below: Local Capital Reserve - $11 million The Local Capital Reserve is used to fund capital items that the Ministry does not provide funding for. In Richmond, we have
made decisions over the years to actively plan for the capital requirements that we are responsible for. As a result, we have committed our Local Capital Reserve to fund technology (computers, iPads, network infrastructure, etc.) for both students and staff, facility improvements targeted for students with special needs and replacement of our maintenance fleet. In fact, several million dollars are already tied up in lease agreements. These requirements are not going away and the savings that we have set aside to fund our areas of responsibility should not be considered "surplus".
Employee Future Benefits Liability - $9 million A liability is an amount that is owed now and that will be paid out in the future. The employee future benefits liability is accumulated as employees work at the school district, accruing pension benefits that will need to be paid out when they retire. These are very real amounts that will need to be compensated for in the future. How they can be classified as "surplus" defies all logic and prudent financial practice! Donna Sargent, Chairperson On Behalf of the Board of Education (Richmond). See full letter www.richmond-news.com
