The Centre de services scolaire des Hautes-Rivières (CSSDHR) has announced its budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. This budget was adopted on October 30, 2023, during an extraordinary assembly. It showcases a significant budget enhancement effort to meet government requirements while maintaining essential services for students.
Budget Overview
The CSSDHR allocated $3.3 million in cutbacks from its total budget of $355 million. Despite these reductions, the organization managed to protect student services. The overall revenue for the CSSDHR for this year reached $355,904,962, reflecting an increase of $4,359,615 compared to last year’s revised budget of $351,545,347.
Financial Decisions and Impact
Marie-Claude Huberdeau, the general director of CSSDHR, emphasizes that financial decisions were made to preserve direct services to students. The educational services will remain intact and improved. Notable enhancements include additional classroom aides and part-time resources for preschool, as well as support for class composition in secondary education.
- Services to students preserved
- Increased investments in classroom support
- Addition of specialized classes for 2025-2026
Investment in Technology and Resources
Approximately $2.6 million has been allocated for information technology, alongside another $300,000 for acquiring textbooks and teaching guides for the new program on Culture and Quebec Citizenship. These decisions aim to enhance the educational framework within the CSSDHR.
Spending Reductions
Significant cuts in spending include:
- A reduction of $1,048,147 on professional development for teachers.
- A decrease of $987,405 in sports, cultural, and social activities.
The CSSDHR has ensured protection for funds allocated to school life, extracurricular activities, and educational trips, limiting cuts to a maximum of 20%. The emphasis has been placed on careful consideration of purchases within operational budgets.
Administrative Cost Management
Administrative budget reductions were substantial, decreasing from $16,234,017 for 2024-2025 to $14,676,480 for 2025-2026. CSSDHR expects an administrative expenditure rate of 4.1% for the upcoming financial year.
Each administrative director was encouraged to propose budget cuts to achieve the overall savings target of $3.3 million. Suggestions included minimizing travel expenses and rental costs for management meetings.
Human Resources and Balance
CSSDHR also has a target of maintaining a maximum of 2,836 full-time equivalent positions. Recent flexibility in budget management allowed CSSDHR to exceed this target slightly, with an equivalent of 25 additional full-time posts dedicated to student services.
In her concluding remarks, Huberdeau noted that the CSSDHR is currently at a fragile balance, contrasting with the previous eight years of massive investments.
