Aug. 30, 2010
Surrey Board of Education Finances

Recent media reports have focused on provincial funding for the Surrey School Board. Here are the facts:

• Since 2001, 51 capital and seismic projects worth more than $219 million have been completed in the Surrey school district, including nine new schools.
• The Province is also providing Surrey with a one-time grant of $2 million to meet capital demands caused by considerable enrolment growth.
• In addition, Surrey is receiving 58 new classrooms for full-day kindergarten, including additions and new modular classrooms.
• Currently, the construction of a $10.9-million new school, Adams Road Elementary, is underway in Surrey.
• Since 2005, we have created over 3,000 new student spaces in Surrey.
• In 1998, the Surrey school district had 363 portables. Today, the district's own numbers are 232.
• $6.2 million is being provided for the partial implementation of full-day kindergarten for 2010-11.
• Surrey's operating funding rose to $511.4 million in 2009-10, an increase of $17.8 million over 2008-09. This year, operating funding will increase to an estimated $525.8 million, a further increase of$14.3 million.
• Since 2000-01, enrolment in the district has grown by an estimated 8,931 students, while operating funding is estimated to increase by $188.9 million - that's an enrolment increase of 15 per cent and an increase in overall funding of 56 per cent.
• The Province has invested nearly $1.38 million since 2007 to establish and operate 20 StrongStart BC centres in Surrey to support early learners.

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