Local school boards are relieved after learning Alberta Education won't be clawing back funding for the Credit Enrolment Unit (CEU) cap.
CEUs are funding units used to calculate base instructional capital for high schools. The courses must follow Alberta Education's conditions, including students are required to have marks of 50 per cent or above in order to qualify.
Due to the province's decision to change the cap from 60 high school credits to 45, boards across Alberta predicted they would see a significant drop in funding as a result.
Northern Lights Public Schools (NLPS) superintendent Rick Cusson noted their loss was estimated to be roughly $275,000.
"To put a true price tag on the true dollars would be difficult for us, but if you look historically, it would be probably in the vicinity of one and a half times to one and three quarter times what we're actually talking at the $275,000," he explained during the board of trustees meeting on Wednesday, March 6.
As a result of the decision, students won't be as restricted as they were when the cap was previously amended.
"Even though they restored funding for this year, it still was detrimental to kids that didn't take the opportunities they had to take because the cap was there," explained Michael Topylki, NLPS board vice-chair.
According to Cusson, when the previous limit was in play, students often opted out of certain classes due to them nearing or exceeding the 45 credit max.
"There was a number of opportunities where high school principals and counsellors would have counselled students not to potentially take certain courses that might have been out of certain interests. They still get the requirements for graduation, however, students were encouraged to self-select less than what they might have taken even though they were still receiving the minimum," he explained.
Lakeland Catholic School District (LCSD) superintendent Joe Arruda believes the decision to keep the cap at 60 will assist students in choosing their electives.
"Our students will no longer be limited from pursuing courses that are of interest to them outside of the core curriculum. There will be more options for students to explore elective courses, and for them to do more post-secondary and career exploration," he detailed.
According to Arruda, the changes will also prevent LCSD from losing $75,000 in funding.
In order to adjust to the CEU cap when it was implemented, NLPS associate superintendent Bill Driedger said schools were instructed to wave funding for CEUs that were lesser dollar-wise in value to get the most money available.
"Now that the policy has returned, yes, we're getting the clawback numbers, but, no, we're not getting the dollars already waved so that we can maximize the dollars that were coming in. That's a significant piece," he noted.
Cusson was hopeful to learn more about what the future holds for the funding program.
"It will be interesting to see what happens next year at this time, or hopefully sooner than that, to actually realize whether or not we're going to be fully funded for what our kids are doing. That's really just providing great opportunities for them, and opening doors for them to pursue their options after schooling."
