Rainbow District School Board Approves 2006-2007 Budget

Rainbow District School Board approved a budget of $155.4 million for the 2006-07 school year at a special meeting held on July 4th, 2006.  Provincial funding in 2006-2007 will increase by $2 million or 1.5 per cent. The budget reflects an additional $690,000 to continue reducing class sizes in Junior Kindergarten to Grade 3 as well as funding for four new Learning to 18 programs to be implemented this fall.

“Initiatives that are having a positive impact in the classroom will continue to be funded,” said Director of Education Jean Hanson. “This includes money for arts education, computers in schools, strategies to support literacy and numeracy, the early reading intervention program and environmental initiatives in Rainbow Schools. In addition, money was allocated to cover furniture, equipment and start up costs for the new school in the Valley.”

“Money has also been allocated for the Board’s highly successful Innovation Fund to foster best practices and inspire new creative ideas for programming for students in Rainbow Schools,” said Hanson. “The Pay it Forward character education program and the implementation of technological systems in classrooms are two examples of Innovation Fund initiatives.”

A total of 77 per cent of the budget, $119.2 million, has been allocated to salaries and benefits for the Board’s teaching and non-teaching staff. Ten per cent of the budget will go towards supplies and services, eight per cent to fees and contracts and five per cent to capital and replacement projects in the 2006-07 school year.

Rainbow District School Board’s enrolment will remain relatively stable in the coming school year. Total enrolment is projected to be 16,094 students.

Rainbow District School Board provides quality programs and character education to students in Sudbury, Espanola and Manitoulin Island in 40 elementary schools and 9 secondary schools. The Board also operates educational programs at the Ruth MacMillan Centre, Frank Flowers School and Cecil Facer Secondary School.

-30-

Media Contact:

Diane Cayen-Arnold, Chief Financial Officer,
Rainbow District School Board, 674-3171, ext. 279