With looming school board budget cuts, members of the Northern Lights School Division (NLSD) did their best to give the situation a positive spin at the public engagement meeting held on April 13. They invited parents, teachers, and interested members of the public to meet with them at Cold Lake Middle School to discuss the impact the recent provincial education budget announcement would have on the division and to focus on what should be saved rather than what must be cut.
On February 24, Dave Hancock, Alberta Minister of Education, announced changes to public school division funding which included an increase in education funding of 4.4 per cent per student. This means a $1.4 million increase in funding for the division, according to Beverley Topylki, associate superintendent of business and financial affairs. However, the government is cutting from essential programs and grant funding at the same time, she said.
Discontinued funding include class size funding for Grades 4 to 6, and enrolment growth funding, while the Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI) funding has been reduced by 50 per cent. Other programs have been cut or modified as well.
"I don't want to get too political," said Topylki at the public engagement meeting. "Mr. Hancock says, 'I've given school divisions their increase in rates to cover the increase in certified staff costs', which he did ... But then he doesn't stress ... he's cut a lot of our programs and our funding too."
Using current enrolment and staff numbers, Topylki has estimated the division will have a shortfall in the next school year of nearly $2 million. By drawing on financial reserves to offset the shortage, she explained the district needed to cut approximately $1.7 million to balance the budget.
"So basically," she finished, "What we need help with is where can we make cuts to cover the shortfall? Where can we increase effiencies? What can we change?"
The board was determined to stay positive, focusing on what needs to be kept rather than cut, according to Walter Hrycauk, board chair.
According to the audience, some priorities included arts funding, second language classes and CTS, and some suggestions for making the division more financially efficient included using a more interdisciplinary approach and sharing resources with other school divisions in the area. Video conferencing classes was suggested as a good way to cut back on costs, as well as cutting low-enrolment sources.
"We need to reduce but we don't want to cut," said Wendy Bartsch, a parent in attendance.
As for suggestions on making district spending more efficient, she suggested, "basically not searching for efficencies at all, but actually saying that this is not OK. It's something that needs to be considered. In Calgary, it's a no cuts campaign going on. They've definitely got the population and the massive parent groups to really push that sort of thing, but as small communities, we can also contribute to that effort, so that we're not sitting here trying to figure out what to cut and what to change."
According to Hrycauk, the board has been meeting with MLAs in the area to raise their awareness of the issue. "In the province, health has predictable and sustainable funding for a five year period of time," he explained. "Education doesn't. Each year, we get the budget announcement from the minister in the spring and it depends on what's happening in the economy, it could be up or it could be down.
"I know that other school boards are working with their MLAs and the message is, you've got to educate your MLA. A lot of them are not aware of what's happening."
During the board meeting before the public engagement session, trustee Danny Smaiel recommended those concerned with the issue, "Certainly take the opportunity and contact their MLA and say, 'In the media, you said that education got this big, huge increase, but in reality, that's not true.' With all the cuts, all the razorblade cuts to the rest of things, it's put us where we are now."
He added, "I think some of the people sometimes confuse provincial budget with the school board saying, 'You're going to get this much money,' so I think somewhere along the line, we've got to make sure they know that this is not our doing and they should, along with looking at what's sacred to them, look at advocating with their MLAs."
"The classroom is sacred," Hrycauk said during the public engagement session. "But if this continues, then even the classroom is not going to be sacred anymore ... But I don't think we should panic. This is a budget for this year; there's a new premier coming on board, and hopefully one of his priorities will be education."
There will be another public engagement session on the issue on April 27 in Lac La Biche.
