Local school boards are pleased to see the provincial government's dedication to education displayed in their 2016 budget.
“I think, given our economic times, the fact that there is a commitment to maintain education funding is promising for us,” said Arlene Hrynyk, chair of the Northern Lights School Division (NLSD) Board of Trustees.
Despite being in the midst of an economic downturn, the education portion of the budget came away relatively unscathed. Released April 14, the provincial NDP's budget included $7.5 billion for the operation of public and separate schools in 2016-'17, up only slightly from the $7.2 billion forecast for 2015-'16.
“We knew with the downturn in our provincial economy that the money wasn't coming through from oil production as expected. There was going to have to be some things either eliminated, or they wouldn't include any increase,” explained Lakeland Catholic School District (LCSD) trustee chair Mary Anne Penner. “We're faced with the reality that's out there in our economy, so we have to work within those bounds and the government saw fit to maintain what we had.”
The majority of the education budget, $5.8 billion, is slated as instructional dollars for Early Childhood Services to Grade 12. Of that, $431 million has been set to address inclusive education. An additional $13 million has been added to the operations and maintenance of schools, to bring the total up to $626 million. Money for school board governance and system administration was maintained at $250 million, a $4 million increase.
When it comes to student transportation, an aspect that NLSD has been advocating for many years, there was a minimal increase of $5 million for a budget of $350 million.
“We recognize the times we're in and certainly we'll continue to advocate for the areas we do find challenges in and ways we can assist the government putting those resources and making them more available in the future,” said Hrynyk.
Budget 2016 also saw the government maintain their commitment to fund enrolment growth projected at 1.3 per cent in 2016-'17, or 8,200 students. That funding promise continues into 2017-'18 at 1.2 per cent and again in 2018-'19 at 1.9 per cent student enrolment growth.
“It's always a relief to know that all of our students are going to be funded. Just because you've enrolled this year but weren't enrolled last year doesn't mean those students shouldn't be funded as far as we're concerned,” said Penner. “It's the idea that if new students aren't funded, then it comes out of what we're able to do for the students who are funded – it has to come from somewhere.”
Both school boards were surprised with a good news item in the provincial government's budget, as they each had a school project included in the capital project list.
A top priority for NLSD, the new building for Bonnyville Centralized High School (BCHS) made it's way onto the 2016-'19 capital list of unfunded projects. The new school was again number one on the list of projects the local public school division submitted to Alberta Education.
“We're absolutely thrilled that BCHS, our top new construction priority, did make the sunshine list. While we recognize it's unfunded at this point, and it's our understanding there's some work to do on that list, we're pleased to see that there's some sort of direction,” expressed Hrynyk.
However, with such a large geographical area and a wish list covering each community, there was a tinge of disappointment to see just one of their schools get the government's attention.
“As a small rural school division we have three different communities that we represent and we put our capital priorities together ad the advice of the department in terms of new construction and modernization. For example, we've had Ecole Plamondon that has sat on the books for years. We need to encourage the minister to understand our geographical realities.”
For LCSD, their Holy Family Catholic School in Waskatenau also made the province's unfunded capital plan list.
While pleased to see the government's commitment to public and separate schools in Alberta, there was another line of the education budget that drew criticism from public school boards across the province. There is $248 million budgeted in 2016-'17 to support about 100 private schools, as well as almost 100 private operations that provide early childhood services.
“By continuing to support Alberta's private and charter schools we are taking funds away from children attending our public schools and, in turn, limiting the opportunities available to our students. We believe all of Alberta's children should be afforded an equal and equitable education, which will only lend itself to an enhance and inclusive society,” said Hrynyk, as president of the Public School Boards' Association of Alberta.
In the coming weeks local school boards will also be exploring how other budget items, such as the carbon tax, will have a consequence on their bottom line and what the full effect of the provincial budget will be.
“We will be looking at the impact of that particular budget as we begin our own budget planning for next year. For us, it's kind of a status quo budget,” said Penner. “Whether that's going to work in the long-run remains to be seen. There are other things going to impact us. The carbon tax will have and effect on transportation, utilities, and so forth.”
