The board for the Garden Valley School Division wants ratepayers to mark February 22, 2017 on their calendar.  That's the day the board will host its annual consultation on the budget. But as Board Chair Laurie Dyck explains, the upcoming event will look quite different than years past.

"We're going to do what I would call a showcase of our different school units. What's happening in different programs in Garden Valley School Division," said Dyck. 

She also described the change as a new twist to not just seeing numbers on a sheet of paper, although she said that option will still be there for people.

"We're looking to engage people at a different level to say this is what's going on, and this is how we're spending your tax dollars... come take a look and see the great things that are happening."

Set up in an exhibition style, the consultation will be a come and go event at Garden Valley Collegiate.

In the fashion the budget consultations have been done in the past, which included a power point presentation focusing on the numbers followed up by roundtable discussions, Dyck said it's no secret that it's been a struggle to attract the community.  

By showcasing what's happening in the division, the board hopes this approach will be more interesting to the tax payer. Dyck said other divisions, including Western School Division, have gone this route. 

She said the GVSD board has been talking with Western to learn what worked for them, and they look forward to incorporating some of those ideas into the showcase, and adding their own twists.

The budget exhibition will take place February 22, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.