news-HSCDSB  Supplied by the Huron Superior Catholic District School Board…
Sault Ste. Marie:  The Board of Trustees of the Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board (HSCDSB) unanimously approved the budget for 2016-17 at its final meeting of the school year which shows a surplus of just over $68,000.
The Board has moved from a deficit of over $450,000 in 2014-15 to a surplus of just over $600,000 in 2015-16 thanks to prudent fiscal practices.
“We are very pleased to accept the budget for 2016-17 as presented and thank everyone involved for their diligence in making sure that the Board passed a balanced budget,” said HSCDSB Chair Leslie Cassidy-Amadio.
The 2016-17 budget notes a projected increase of 23 students in elementary schools and a projected decrease of 100 students due to a low cohort of Grade 8 students for the 2015-16 year.  The Board is pleased to note that a large majority of Grade 8 graduates are choosing to attend St. Mary’s College.
With the projected enrolments in mind, the budget includes an increase of approximately 2.5 full-time equivalent(FTE) elementary teachers and a decrease of approximately 4.5 FTE secondary teachers.  Staffing may be adjusted in September once actual enrolment is confirmed.
In 2016-17, funding includes increases in salary benchmarks for teaching and non-teaching staff and increases in the Student Transportation Grant and non-staff portion of the School Operations Allocation benchmark.