Border Land School Division will be working with a smaller budget next school year.

The board of trustees has approved $35.3 million in operating expenses for 2019/20, down nearly $52,000 from the current year. The division has schools in Sprague, Vita and Dominion City here in the southeast. 

Secretary-treasurer, Rachel Geirnaert, says the figures include $255,000 in salary grid increases.

The school division's capital budget has also taken a hit with $448,248 set aside for capital projects in 2019/20, down nearly $20,000 from 2018/19.

With the average age of division-owned buildings at 50 years old, Geirnaert said upgrades and large maintenance projects are starting to come up every year. That list includes land improvements like drainage, sidewalks, and bus lanes; building upgrades such as flooring and windows, and accessibility improvements like equipment and other fixtures.

Additionally, the Public Schools Finance Board has approved the use of reserves for some major capital projects which include:

- Roseau Valley School in Dominion City: PA/Clock/Bell System (safety project); Currently not all areas of the school have a PA system and parts are no longer available for the current system when it fails.

- Ross L Gray in Sprague: digital control upgrade in the east wing (aging infrastructure)

- Shevchenko School in Vita: shower/change room renovation (accessibility project)

Despite the fiscal belt-tightening, local education taxes will still go up by 2% in order to make up for continual decreases in provincial support.

A home valued at $200,000 will see an increase in education property taxes of $30.60. Eighty acres of farmland valued at $383,000 adds up to a $34 bump.