2022-23 Budget Consultation Survey

Dear parents, caregivers, staff and students,

As a District, the New Westminster Schools team is working on building our 2022-23 budget recommendation for the Board of Education to consider, and we want to hear from you on whether you think we’re on the right track.

The recommendations will be informed by the significant amount of consultation already done, with community and stakeholder groups, when we created our 5 year strategic plan. Now that we have both set priorities and roadmaps in place, we are shifting our focus to executing on them, and ensuring the initiatives undertaken are appropriately resourced … which will enable our teams to carry out the work needed to better support students, staff and our broader community. This year’s recommendations will also reflect and consider the needs that have surfaced as a result of the pandemic: in the survey you will see proposals that include asking the Board to consider targeted investments in staff recruitment that will help us better support schools, staff and students in important and sustainable ways.

We invite you to take a few minutes to complete this survey and share your thoughts on some proposed ideas and investments for next year.
*This survey will close on April 23rd at 5pm. 

What happens next? In addition to the survey, the Board of Education will also be engaging in one-on-one meetings with stakeholder groups, to further collect input – as represented by the New Westminster Teachers’ Union and CUPE, the Principals and Vice-Principals Association, the Indigenous Advisory Committee, our District Parent Advisory Council and the Student Voice group at NWSS (who are hosting a Student Symposium in advance to help collect additional thoughts and feedback from students at other schools).

That information, in addition to the months of preparation done by School Board and District staff, will inform the Superintendent’s recommendations to the Board of Education … for discussion, debate and later approval of the proposed 2022-23 school year budget.

Please join us Tuesday, May 10th, at 6:30 pm at the Operations, Policy & Planning meeting to see how the Superintendent’s recommendations have taken shape, based in part on your feedback.

For more information on the budget process, you can also visit our budget page on our District website: https://newwestschools.ca/our-board/budget/

Thanks in advance for your time, thoughts and participation. It all makes a difference in shaping the future of our students, staff and community.

Sincerely,
Bettina Ketcham
Secretary-Treasurer / CFO
New Westminster Schools