Message from the Treasurer
Steve Geist
Financial Report
This has been a unique year for Royal St. George’s College. As we reflect on the 2020/2021 school year and the many challenges it presented, we are extremely fortunate to have been in a position of full enrolment and to have once again received incredible support from our Georgian community. The College opened in September 2020 to on-campus learning during a pandemic, a new experience for all of us. This followed a summer of intense and rigorous planning to ensure the health and safety of our entire Georgian Community—our number one priority throughout the health crisis. Numerous facility enhancements were made to meet health and safety requirements, additional staff were hired and investments were made in the information technology infrastructure. These pandemic-related expenditures totaled over $800,000. We are grateful to our generous donors who contributed approximately $300,000 to help offset these expenses. The remainder was funded from cost savings realized during periods of provincially mandated school closures—January to mid-February and then again from mid-April to the end of the school year. Full enrolment for the year resulted in tuition and other revenues of $15.9 million compared to $15.4 million in the prior year. Expenses totaled $16.5 million compared to $16 million in 2020, with close to 75 per cent of these expenses incurred for salaries and benefits. The College also received restricted and unrestricted donations of approximately $917,000.
Investments in capital assets of just over $470,000 included pandemic-related expenditures such as the installation of a campus-wide air purification system, information technology-related expenses and other facility related health and safety items.
The College continued to reduce its outstanding debt during the year, with only $192,000 remaining at the end of June.
Looking ahead to Fiscal 2022, the College is in a strong financial position to absorb the additional pandemic-related expenses that are anticipated for the upcoming year. As always, the Audit and Finance Committee will continue to work closely with Management and the Board to ensure resources are available to meet the priorities of the College. We are optimistic that we will be able to manage the challenges that lie ahead and are thankful to the community for their ongoing support.
As I complete my term as Governor of the College and Chair of the Audit and Finance Committee, I am very proud of the many achievements of RSGC and particularly how the issues of the past year were managed. The school is in a stronger financial position today from which to continue to build upon for the future. I welcome Richard Talbot as the new Chair of the Audit and Finance Committee and wish him, the Committee and the Board all the best.