Trustees with the Near North District School Board have passed a deficit budget.
Trustees approved a $153-million budget at their regular monthly meeting Tuesday evening which is over budget by $482,000.
Dave Thompson, board chairman, says several factors contributed to the deficit.
For one, the past government has mandated more mental health workers going into schools which increases expenses.
Thompson says another reason is more money is going into rural schools plus the teacher increases under the collective agreement amount to $1.3 million.
Trustees reluctantly passed the budget because of the deficit.
However Thompson says the board has faced deficits in the past and staff have come through with cost-saving measures.
He says staff will have the same task for the 2018-19 school year and is confident savings will be found.
The 2018-19 budget is about $10-million more than what the board spent in the school year that is nearing an end.
