Families in Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge have until noon on April 22, 2026, to share their feedback on the proposed 2026/27 preliminary budget for School District 42. The survey marks the final phase of a three-month public engagement process that began in January to help guide spending for the district, which serves approximately 17,000 students.
The proposed budget aims to align with several district priorities, including literacy and numeracy, social-emotional learning, equity, assessment, innovation, and sustainability. However, the district faces a projected $1.4 million shortfall for the upcoming school year as costs continue to outpace provincial funding. The school board has noted that the district currently receives the lowest per-student funding in British Columbia, including significantly lower CommunityLINK funding compared to other urban districts in the province.
In addition to the online survey, the public can provide input at a Finance Committee meeting. This meeting is taking place at the Thomas Haney Secondary School rotunda on April 22 at 5:30 p.m. Anyone wishing to speak at this meeting must register by 9 a.m. on April 20 by emailing [email protected].
Following the conclusion of this engagement phase, the Board of Education is set to conduct final deliberations and adopt the budget at its public meeting on April 29, 2026. The board consists of seven trustees, including representatives for Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge, who must also plan for long-term growth as the district expects to need 80 additional classrooms over the next 15 years to accommodate new residential development.
