Surrey Board of Education passes balanced $1.1 billion budget for 2025-26 school year

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In the face of a $16 million shortfall, the Surrey Board of Education has passed a balanced annual budget worth $1,159,791,363 for the 2025-26 school year.

At Wednesday’s public meeting, the board unanimously approved its third consecutive billion-dollar budget, with nearly $672 million for teacher costs and more than $487 million for all other costs. The budget is based on numerous variables, including projected enrolment, capital costs, grant funding, labour settlements and wage increases, inflation, supply chain delays, recruitment and retention challenges, efficiency needs and updating business systems.

“This budget reflects tough but necessary decisions made in the interest of long-term sustainability,” said Terry Allen, Vice-Chair of the Surrey Board of Education, who is also chair of the finance committee. “The board’s goal with this budget is to support students, protect essential services and uphold the financial integrity of the district.”

Allen cited a tough economic climate for the 2025-26 school year ahead, with continued inflation and enrolment growth pressures anticipated to increase operating expenses, and the depletion of the district’s contingency fund that previously helped to absorb unexpected costs. These challenges are in addition to concerns he raised in February around capacity pressures, insufficient government grants and rising replacement cost salaries putting a strain on the district’s financial resources.

To address the district’s shortfall, Allen acknowledged several difficult decisions the board made to balance the budget, including:

• reviewing and reallocating non-enrolling teacher positions to better align staffing with classroom needs;
• implementing a reduction in inclusive education support worker (IESW) services through employee attrition;
• examining existing programs such as elementary band to ensure they align with the provincial curriculum and the district’s responsibilities under the School Act;
• relocating the South Surrey/White Rock Learning Centre program to four secondary school sites and a specialized hub designed to better support students’ distinct needs.

“As much as the people in this room are disappointed, to get us to the point where we got to for a balanced budget, it’s critical for everybody to know that this board has tried relentlessly to get the government’s interest in the fact that we have a $16 million shortfall,” said Allen. “The reality is, we have a billion-dollar budget that has to try to educate 85,000 students, and when you have a budget that’s 93% wages and benefits, it doesn’t leave you a lot of money to cover off a $16 million shortfall.”

“This is the culmination of a lot of disappointing decisions we’ve had to make this year,” added Trustee Bob Holmes. “It’s really been very disheartening.”

Despite these challenges, the board was able to continue the StrongStart program at 23 sites across the district, with changes to duration and availability of the program. Allen said staff impacted by these changes will be offered opportunities to work in other roles in the district.

Trustee Laurie Larsen warned that next year’s budget will be worse than this year’s if the district does not receive more funding to build new schools and additions, noting it takes five years on average to plan, design and build a new school.

“Unfortunately Surrey has been in need for so many years and we haven’t got the funding we need,” she said. “Even if we got money tomorrow, it’s going to be five years before any children will be in [new] elementary schools or high schools. The modulars have helped, we’re not complaining about that, but the modulars are not an addition, they’re not attached to the school, they don’t give you the gym space, library space, everything else.”

Larsen and Holmes thanked Surrey DPAC, the Surrey Teachers Association and CUPE 728 for their advocacy and promised to continue to the board’s efforts to advocate for funding for Surrey and White Rock schools.

“We will continue to advocate strongly at our public meetings, when we meet with MLAs, the education minister,” said Holmes.

“It is up to the public and to ourselves as a board to advocate and we will continue to do that on your behalf and the students’ behalf,” said Larsen.

Budget Information

Each year, the district conducts a public consultation seeking input on budget priorities, with this year’s consultation gathering nearly 8,900 survey responses from parents, students, staff and community members across Surrey and White Rock. The Finance Committee utilized this feedback to better understand the priorities of our community as they finalized the budget. The district also analyzed financial needs based on projected enrolment, which is expected to reach 96,000 students in 2034.

The annual budget is made up of three separate funds: the operating fund, special purpose fund and capital fund.

• Operating costs include classroom and instructional programs, school and district administration, and the maintenance of schools, district facilities and transportation.
• Special purpose funds are provided by funders or donors for specific functions such as school meal programs, scholarships and ministry-designated activities, including annual facility grants, classroom enhancement grants, Student and Family Affordability programs and early learning programs.
• Capital funding largely comes from Ministry of Education capital grants, as well as operating and special purpose funds, for the construction of new schools, school expansions and upgrades; vehicles, computers, furniture and equipment; and site acquisitions for new schools.

To view the 2025-26 annual budget, click here.