Garden Valley School Division's first ever budget and school exhibition drew a steady stream of people through the doors of Garden Valley Collegiate last evening. The gym was packed with displays from each school unit in the division, and there were also various demonstrations, giving people the opportunity to see firsthand what programs their tax dollars are paying for.

Board Chair Laurie Dyck says she heard a lot of good comments and shared about one of her conversations. "I ran into a gentleman whose child attends a different school division, but because of where their farmland is, they pay tax dollars to Garden Valley School Division... So he was here to explore what his tax dollars were paying for, and then became very intrigued with what the possibilities might be for his children to attend Garden Valley School Division."

As they work on the 2017/18 operational budget, Dyck says the board is doing their best to keep spending very reasonable. She says with no capital projects on the horizon, their focus will be on things that impact student learning. She says the type of things they're proposing right now are things like continuing on with their in-class libraries. The board has previously put money into in-class libraries for Kindergarten to grade four, and will now continue on for grade five to eight.

"We're looking at bus replacement, as we always do," added Dyck. "We are looking at the possibility of another bus route, so that requires another bus and bus driver. We are also considering a significant amount of money for purchasing computers."

Dyck says if there is an increase in the school portion of the local taxes, it would be very tiny. "It might stay the same, it could be less. said Dyck. It really is going to boil into the rest of these projects coming in with their pricing," said Dyck. "We are very aware that the taxpayer not looking to pay heaps and bounds more, and nor should they have to." Dyck added it's their goal to be very diligent with what they have and to be very sensitive to the needs of the students as well as the needs of the taxpayer.

Dyck adds thanks to a growing enrolment in Garden Valley School Division, there will be no staff cuts to come.

The 2017/2018 operational budget will be passed at the division's next regular board meeting in March.