Kamloops school district to cut 20 positions

KAMLOOPS – A total of 20 teachers and educational assistants are set to lose their jobs this summer as the school district struggles to cut nearly $800,000 in administrative costs amid a drop in student registration.

Kamloops-Thompson School District 73 presented their proposed budget to the public last night, April 21, and while trimming nearly $770,000 in administration costs is daunting, a mandate handed down from the province, the board’s total challenge was to cut $3.1 million from the budget.

As a result of declining enrolment the first casualty of the budget cuts would be 17 full-time teachers and three educational assistants.

Last year the district saw a slight increase in overall enrolment but initial numbers show the district is facing a drop of 386 students for the 2015-2016 school year. This results in a loss of $792,303 in funding from the province. 

Questions of who is to be laid-off and when were not able to be answered, nor were specific cuts to the administration budget.

Finance and planning chair Kathleen Karpuk explained the school board’s budget is very fluid and it would be impossible to speak to potential lay-offs until it is known how many teachers would retire at school year’s end. Also, specific cuts to programs could not be finalized until it is known exactly how many children would be enrolled for the fall.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Dana Reynolds at dreynolds@infonews.ca or call 250-819-6089. To contact an editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.