During the Budget Consultation Process, a number of questions were received either via email or through the online survey. Below are answers to these questions. If you have any further questions, please email budget@deltaschools.ca
EAs are supposed to be for educational support. Most EAs in the district are now for safety or behavioural needs. Can this funding be reinstated?
The role of Education Assistants (EAs) is to facilitate inclusive education by providing one-on-one or small-group support to students with complex needs, including behavioral, physical, and/ or learning challenges. EAs have multifaceted roles, where they work alongside the classroom teacher, learning support team and case managers to best meet the needs of the students in their care. Typically, this involves helping the student regulate, so they can complete the desired work as outlined by their teacher or their individual education plan (IEP). The district receives supplemental funding based on the number of students with a designation and this funding varies based on that designation. The district uses this funding as it is intended – to support students.
Why is there no coverage when an EA is away?
The district will attempt to provide coverage when an EA is away. However, often there is not a casual replacement available. There is a shortage of EAs across the province, and as a result, recruitment and retention of EAs continues to be an ongoing challenge for the district. To support this, we have ongoing applications, interviews and recruitment conversations with local institutions to recruit and retain staff.
The budget needs to be decided with a child-centred lens. How is our tax money being spent to benefit kids?
Budget decisions are influenced by the district’s Vision for 2030, Strategic Plan 2025/28, Trustees’ Budget priorities, and feedback from the annual budget consultation process. These elements shape decisions about programs, student supports, and daily operations with the aim of improving students’ education and well-being. Decisions are always made with a student-centred lens. The areas of focus and breakdown of district spending may be found in our district budget information section posted on our website: https://www.deltasd.bc.ca/news-events/news/2025-2026-budget-recommendations/ Our focus is ensuring all learners have a full and robust educational experience throughout their years in the Delta School District.
Delta School District seems very top heavy with lots of co-ordinators. Are those co-ordinators working with students directly and sharing their knowledge directly to support schools (staff and students directly)?
Our Learning Service department has a group of coordinators and other educators who engage in a wide range of work that supports staff and students. These coordinators are also funded from different sources as well; some are funded by the district overall operating budgets, and others are funded through extra grants or special purpose funds that require the completion of specific projects and responsibilities.
Overall, every coordinator positions exists to support schools. While some spend most of their time working directly with students, all the coordinators spend the majority of their time sharing knowledge and resources with schools. Meeting the needs of learners is complex. Delta School District believes that practical resources, along with effective planning and instruction play a key role in supporting students and teachers.
The district’s Learning Services Coordinators play a vital role in developing high impact strategies and resources, sharing their knowledge and expertise with educators, and ensuring that educators feel empowered to use them in their classrooms, which ultimately benefits students. Creating and vetting resources is an element of the work of some coordinators, but the end goal is always to work with school staffs directly as much as possible.
What is the district doing with fees from Ministry for a universal hot lunch program?
Since April 2023, when the Feeding Futures funding was first announced by the provincial government, schools across the district have initiated a variety of programs such as breakfast or lunch clubs to help provide food to students.
Going forward, the Delta School District is partnering with a school meal provider, The Lunch Lady, to ensure all students at every school have access to nutritious, balanced meals at lunchtime. The program will be rolled out to select elementary schools across the district starting in May, with the hope that it will be rolled out to all elementary schools over time. This universally accessible meal program is partially funded through the B.C. government’s Feeding Futures initiative, and all students will be invited to participate, regardless of their family’s financial circumstances. More information on this new program will be shared with families soon.
In every school, there are multiple options for students to access food throughout the day. If your family or child has a need, please do not hesitate to speak with your school administrator to hear about different options available to you.
For years, Delta has been promoting student learning in multiple forms through a variety of forums. The switch to require students to take 8 classes in the brick-and-mortar building per calendar year (7 for Grade 11 and 12 students) seems to be taking multiple steps backwards and will likely result in more behavioural concerns as students are “forced” to take classes they have little interest in. As more behaviours mean more interventions, how exactly will this be a cost-saving measure?
The Delta School District continues to value multiple pathways for learning, including Distributed Learning and hybrid models, and these remain appropriate options for some students through direct consultation with the principal. However, our expectation that most students in Grades 8-12 maintain a full course load is grounded first and foremost in student well-being and educational equity and quality. This expectation is an expression of our district values and knowledge about learning and human development and not driven by any potential cost savings.
Regular, in-class participation supports the development of the BC Curriculum’s core competencies: communication, critical and creative thinking, and personal and social responsibility, which are best cultivated through consistent relationships with peers and adults, collaborative learning, and engagement in the broader life of the school. Research and our local experience show that students who are fully connected to their school community demonstrate stronger attendance, improved behaviour, and greater academic success over time.
Maintaining full enrolment within schools is also essential to sustaining a wide range of academic and elective programs for all students to experience. If large numbers of students were to opt out of in-person programming, schools lose program flexibility, which ultimately reduces choice rather than expanding it. Enrolment also is a driver for the funding that drives educational supports for students in addition to classroom teachers.
We continue to provide individualized schedules where individual circumstances and needs warrant. Our general expectation, however, reflects a commitment to equitable access, robust programming, and the full educational experience students deserve.
Homeschool families need funding. This could mean them retaining their funding for each child, rather than it going to the catchment school they aren’t using.
School districts in B.C. receive a small provincial funding grant ($250) for registered homeschooled students to cover administrative costs and provide authorized learning materials and assessment services. This funding, outlined by the B.C. Government, is designed to support the legal requirement for school boards to offer resources, not to directly fund parents.
Wondering where the funding for transportation funding is going to if there is no longer a school bus provided to rural children?
The amounts budgeted for student transportation within the school district’s annual operating expenses go towards transportation for students with disabilities or diverse abilities. There are currently 11 buses that transport students with disability to different schools, where students can access programs that best meet their specific needs. We recognize that families in the more rural areas of our district would like to see school bus transportation for their children. Unfortunately, there are insufficient transportation funds to support such an initiative.
Supplemental funding, why has the gap between Ministry and District funding widened significantly between 24/25 and 25/26?
Supplemental funding is based on students enrolled within the district, who have a diagnosis and meet the criteria for a designation. This funding often changes, as we often see a discrepancy between the number of students moving on from school after grade 12, compared to those coming into kindergarten. This is because, students who enter kindergarten do not often have a formal diagnosis or are working through the process as a family; whereas grade 12 students will typically have been to a paediatrician, received outside supports or been formally diagnosed. In other words, the funding amount will drop when we have less formal diagnosis coming into the school system.
The Ministry continues to fund school systems in the same manner. We will consistently see a fluctuation in the total amount of funding, as students can transition between designations that receive funding and designations that do not receive funding. As well, not all funding is allocated the same, as each category receives a different amount. Therefore, it is a natural part of our support process to look at who the learners are in front of us and to provide supports equitably with the funds we have to best meet the student needs.
In addressing the anticipated $1.984 million shortfall in 2026/27, who will determine which program areas have had “limited impact on student success and wellbeing,” and how is that assessment done?
District staff engage in discussion across roles and departments on a regular basis throughout the year in reviewing district initiatives and program areas to ensure they are meeting the intended purpose in support of student success and well-being. Within the budget process, should there need to be a consideration for reduction in any aspect of district operations or services, staff place strong consideration to student impact with the goal to maintain services closest to student supports wherever possible.
Why is there a lack of additional Indigenous supports?
Supporting Indigenous learners is a shared responsibility across the district, and we recognize the importance of ensuring supports are meaningful and responsive to student and community needs. While the District receives targeted funding for Indigenous Education, we consistently invest beyond that amount. Our focus continues to be on strengthening both targeted supports and inclusive classroom practices so Indigenous learners are supported in every learning environment. We continue to work in partnership with Indigenous rightsholders and the Indigenous Education Council to ensure our supports are aligned with identified priorities.
Is there an opportunity to increase overall funding to the Delta School District, given that many of the identified priorities are directly linked to health? While education and health are closely connected, there is a significant emphasis on mental health, an area primarily led by the Ministry of Health. Could additional funding be secured to support these health-related priorities so that the education budget is not required to absorb costs that fall within the health mandate? Or balance the health-related teaching through focusing on both mental and physical health?
The Delta School District and Board of Education regularly advocate for more funding for public education within our province. The district agrees that student health is linked to student success and that we need to work with current funding to best meet the needs of students – not only their academics, but their physical and mental health. To support this, the Delta School District was successfully allocated the Ministry Grant for the Integrated Child and Youth Team (ICY). Through this separate and targeted funding, the district has been able to hire 3 clinicians and 3 peer supports to work alongside Fraser Health, Child Youth Mental Health and other outside agencies, where they can best meet student and family needs. The goal is to have students and families access supports faster and to be more proactive in providing options of support to work on individual mental health. This is in addition to the amazing work that our school counsellors, and child and youth care workers do to support connection, positive well-being and supporting/creating safe and caring spaces for students to explore their emotions, regulate and seek advice on how to handle a variety of situations.
Why are parents funding the emergency supply container? Why isn’t the Ministry of Education covering this cost?
The Canadian Government believes emergency preparedness is a shared responsibility and has stated that individuals should be prepared to take care of themselves and their family for a minimum of 72 hours. This is because if a disaster happens, it may take emergency workers some time to get to everyone that needs help. Source: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2008/ps-sp/PS4-26-2-2-2008E.pdf
The aim of the Emergency Preparedness Fee is to ensure that all schools have what they need to care for students in the event of a large scale incident such as an earthquake that may require students to remain at school for up to 72 hours if their parents/caregivers are unable to get to the school to pick them up. In the absence of other funding sources, the district needs to find other ways to cover the cost of food, water and other essential supplies. Delta is the first district in the province to develop a comprehensive and consistent Emergency Supply Plan implemented across all schools.
Given the projected budget shortfall, is Inclusive Learning still being treated as a priority?
Yes, absolutely. Inclusive Learning is a foundational part of the district’s Vision for 2030, and one of five key priorities outlined in our Strategic Plan. Despite the budget shortfall, additional funding has been allocated to Inclusive Learning for the upcoming school year to provide more staffing and other resources to help meet students’ needs and address safety concerns. In addition, the district will continue to allocate funding from its Reserve Funds to help all students to thrive and flourish. In the 2025/26 Amended Budget, the current Inclusive Learning budgeted costs are $49.9 million, compared to a budgeted revenue of $27.3 million, meaning the district is planning to spend 179% of what it receives. This additional spending is financed using other funding sources available to the district including the district’s Accumulated Operating Surplus (Reserve Funds). Every available dollar will go to ensuring that students’ needs are met.
Is there a report that summarizes the financial and operational impact of international student placements in Delta?
Information on the impact of International Student placements in Delta can be found in the Financial Statements Discussion and Analysis published each year on the district’s website. In recent years, enrolment has remained relatively steady, but operational and logistical costs impacted by inflation have continued to rise. The district has increased ISP fees for the coming years to help address these costs. The International Student Program continues to be an important source of revenue for the school district.