The Black Gold School Division, which serves Leduc and several surrounding communities, has approved a $187.3 million budget for the 2026-27 school year. The funding package, voted in by the board of trustees on June 26, projects revenues of $185.6 million and will use $1.7 million from operating reserves to cover a planned shortfall.
Student enrollment across the division is expected to hit 13,815 this September, a nearly two per cent jump from the 13,603 students counted during the current school year. The growth is driving much of the spending plan, with a focus on protecting programming in small and rural schools, responding to a wide range of student needs, and launching a new Collegiate program at Calmar Secondary Collegiate School.
According to the Black Gold School Division, tapping reserves for the $1.7 million deficit keeps staffing stable at smaller schools while adding career-focused learning options. The division’s reserves are forecast to sit at $5.97 million by August 2027, which equals 3.48 per cent of projected expenses and remains safely under the province’s six per cent cap.
The budget comes as the Alberta government pumps a record $10.8 billion into K-12 operations this year. New money of $722 million is aimed at enrollment growth, teacher pay, and better classroom conditions, all of which feed directly into Black Gold’s planning.
Alongside the budget, trustees also adopted a three-year Education Plan for 2026-29. It is built around three pillars: Success, Wellness, and Engagement & Partnerships. The plan maps out priorities like improving literacy and numeracy, expanding Indigenous education, and strengthening mental health supports across the division’s 32 schools.
Families in Beaumont, Calmar, Devon, Leduc, and other division communities will see the plan in action this fall, especially with the new Collegiate program offering hands-on trades pathways. The board’s leadership is also new, with Trustee Angie Charpentier elected board chair and Trustee Christie Bergman taking the vice-chair role in late June.
