The province is handing out more money to school districts, but funding levels for Nanaimo will remain the same.
The province announced last week it is releasing $61.7 million to districts, including $57.4 million that was withheld to await revised enrolment numbers.
While the holdback funds often affect Nanaimo school district's budget, Phil Turin, secretary-treasurer, said the district is in funding protection this year, so the money won't change despite updated enrolment numbers.
Funding protection prevents the district from receiving less money than it received the year previous, even though fewer students returned to school. The district does not receive more money unless there is a large jump in enrolment.
This means that while the district's portion of the holdback funds is more than $1.55 million, the money merely comes out of the $5.3 million the province allocated to the district to maintain its operating grant from the year before, Turin said.
The district is now receiving a funding protection grant of just over $3.8 million, instead of $5.3 million.