At Armstrong Elementary School, our PAC is working hard to ensure transparency and fairness for our students and staff. As part of this effort, we’ve made a formal request to School District 83 for detailed school-level financial and staffing data.
We believe families have a right to understand how resources are distributed in our district. This includes how much money is allocated to each school, how it’s spent, and how staffing levels are determined.
This request is a follow-up to our recent Open Letter. Here’s what we’ve asked SD83 to provide.
Ten years of school-by-school budget data
We’ve requested a full data set of fiscal information for each school in the district, covering the past 10 school years. This includes:
- Budgeted amounts and actual expenditures
- Budget allocations for the current and upcoming school years
We’ve asked for these figures to be broken down by category (not just totals), and to include student enrollment numbers for each school. This helps show how funding levels may differ depending on school size, location, or other factors. It also allows for calculation of an average per-pupil funding amount.
Ten years of school-by-school staffing data
We’ve requested a table showing full-time equivalent (FTE) staff counts for each school in the district over the past 10 years. This includes separate counts by role, including:
- Teachers
- Learning Resource Teachers (LRTs)
- Certified Education Assistants (CEAs)
- Librarians
- Janitorial and custodial staff
- Other school-based staff
Anonymized numbers only
Our request does not include any personal information about students or staff. We are asking for numbers only, to help us understand trends and identify any systemic inequities. Privacy is important, and we are committed to protecting it.
Previous AES PAC requests for school and community level financial data
AES PAC has previously taken issue with SD83 presenting only district-wide financial data, and requested local financial data in 2016 when the SD83 was considering school closures in Armstrong (see our Advocacy page for more information). Here is a quote from a 2016 Morning Star article:
“Schrauwen says only district-wide financial data was presented and not strictly for Armstrong.
“Is Armstrong where the cuts have to be made? We’re not Sicamous, we’re not Salmon Arm,” she said.
“We’re asking for Armstrong costs so we can look at the picture here. Sicamous numbers give us nothing.”
Schrauwen says the elementary schools are virtually at capacity and closures could impact students’ needs in the future.”
Parents fight for Armstrong schools: Parents insist they want more of a role when it comes to the future of Armstrong schools
Vernon Morning Star, by reporter Richard Rolke
Published on Jan 17, 2016 at 8:00 PM
Public availability of data
We’ve asked SD83 to make this information publicly available on their website, just like some other school districts in Canada already do. We believe this level of transparency will help families, school communities, and decision-makers make informed choices that truly reflect the needs of all students in our district.
You can view our full request in the email sent to SD83’s Superintendent and Acting Secretary Treasurer. As always, we’ll keep you updated as we hear back.