Lilian Fawcett
Kim Morris, manager of West End Lane Books in West Hampstead
- Credit: Lilian Fawcett
Shoppers and shopkeepers alike are feeling positive about the future of West End Lane in West Hampstead as life slowly gets back to normal with lockdown easing.
Most retailers and venues said they had been busy since reopening and had seen a concerted community effort to support independent businesses.
Kim Morris, manager at the popular West End Lane Books, told the Ham&High: “It’s been really busy, everyone has been super positive and really happy to be back in the shop.
“I feel like a lot of people now realise that they need to use the high street, and if they don’t, they will lose it.
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CHAD HIPOLITO/The Canadian Press
Several school districts in B.C. are facing multimillion-dollar budget shortfalls, partly driven by a plunge in enrolment from international students because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The number of international students has been cut by half in several school districts, leaving them short of millions of dollars in lost revenue as they are looking at their budgets for the new school year.
The Lansdowne Middle School Grade 6 strings program organized the before-class gathering, which attracted about 30 students. “We really like music,” said Grade 6 student Grace Bateman, who plays cello in the strings program and saxophone in band. “During the day we have all sorts of projects due and it can be really stressful, but when we have a break for music, it really calms us and gets rid of all that extra stuff in our heads.” Grade 6 student Mathilde Hammer-Coutts called music “collective learning” that is bringing students together in the time of COVID. “It’s fun for all of us.” Grace’s mother, Jennifer, said she found out about the issue with middle-school music on Friday night, and worries that a “rash decision” will be made to deal with a budget deficit that is happening for many reasons.
VICTORIA As a result of lower student enrolment and a drastically reduced surplus, the Greater Victoria School District (SD61) is facing a $7-million budget deficit for the 2020-2021 year. For almost two decades, SD61 has depended on underspending on its operations and programs to balance its budget. It says it has used between $3-million and $10-million to balance the budget since 2013. The school district says it relies on a budget surplus accumulated during the current year to balance the budget of the following year. “That’s great when enrolment is growing and you can find some of those efficiencies and you have those big carry-forwards every year,” said SD61 secretary treasurer Kim Morris on Monday. “This year with COVID we have an enrolment decline and so the surplus just isn’t projected to be eight or 10 or $17-million like it was last year.”