Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the letter is addressed to Mr. Tom Beaulieu, chairman of the standing committee and priorities in planning, 2018-2019 Main Estimates. As was noted in my letter of January 29, 2018, $881,000 was approved to be reallocated to the inclusion of junior kindergarten enrolments in determining inclusive schooling funding. This amount is included in the $154.9 million in the education authority contributions described on page 42 and 43 of the 2018-2019 Main Estimates.
As I am sure the Members can appreciate, estimates of enrolments are used for inclusion in the budgeting process from the previous year. Recently it was determined that enrolments had dropped by 1.9 per cent. What the FMB has directed is, rather than lapse the funding and returning it to general revenue, Education, Culture and Employment are to re-direct that funding to inclusive schooling. Should enrolments increase unexpectedly for 2018-2019, the department would seek supplementary funding as appropriate. Other financial commitments identified as part of our agreement will be included as part of the supplementary appropriations number 1 for 2018-2019. I trust this provides the needed clarification. Thank you, Mr. Chair.