INNISFAIL - The Chinook’s Edge School Division (CESD) board of trustees has approved the 2025-26 school year budget totalling $140.9 million.
The approval came following a presentation by chief financial officer and treasurer Nadeem Altaf at the board’s May 27 meeting in Innisfail.
The board anticipates revenue of $140.4 million, with a budget deficit of $586,647 during the next school year, official said in a release issued Tuesday afternoon.
The Innisfail-based division will using reserves to balance the budget, anticipating that reserves at the end of the 2025–2026 school year will be approximately $4.0 million or 3.2 per cent.
“It is important to note that the board is well under Alberta Education’s reserve cap of $8.4 million or six per cent,” officials said. “Also, the majority of our reserve is restricted and available only for future planned capital projects.”
For 2025–2026, the division projects student enrolment of about 11,198 students, slightly lower than 2024-25.
The budget will now be filed with Alberta Education and posted to the division website.
During the May 27 board meeting, trustees also OK’d the division’s Education Plan for the next school year.
“Through the plan, the board and division articulates its continued focus for work around three pillars: academic excellence, social emotional well-being and career connections,” officials said in the same release.
The plan outlines a number of initiatives going forward, including, “piloting a blend of online and in person learning where students will have the opportunity to connect with their teacher, attend field trips, and access division standardized assessments while learning from home.”
The plan also calls for “expanding collegiate experience opportunities for our rural students by fully utilizing our partnerships with Olds College and Red Deer Polytechnic.
“These efforts will support students in post-secondary transition and ensure high school completion, allowing students to move forward with confidence into the world of work.”
CESD includes schools across the region, including in Olds, Carstairs, Didsbury, Cremona, Innisfail, Bowden and Sundre.
