The Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board may have to dip into its savings to cover COVID-19 and retirement plan expenses.
Executive Superintendent of Business Penny King presented a budget projection to the Board of Trustees Tuesday night showing a projected deficit of $4.3-million for 2020-2021.
King says funding from upper levels of government doesn't cover the $6-million in COVID-19 expenses incurred by the board.
"About $4.5-million is funded through either the Ministry of Education provincial or the federal government," she says. "That leaves about $2.1-million of COVID-19 related expenses that are funded by the board."
King says retirement expenses and investments account for more than $1.5-milllion in additional costs.
"The valuation of those liabilities is impacted by the forecasted interest rates. Those forecast liabilities that impact the financial results for the board," she says. "That's the next thing aside from COVID-19 that's having the greatest impact on the forecasted financial results."
The board is sitting on a surplus of $22.2-million, but the province restricts how much can be pulled from savings each year.
If a board exceeds its limit they have to submit a financial recovery plan, but King says that limit has been raised due to the pandemic.
"For us that limit that we could incur is $4.8-million, so while the deficit is $4.3-million, it's still within the limit that the Ministry of Education has set out in terms of allowable for the fiscal year," she added.
King is hopeful additional COVID-19 funding from the government in 2021 could lower the projected deficit.