Tories promise tax credit for teachers

Tory Leader Alison Redford bid for the support of Alberta teachers Thursday, matching a promise of a $500 tax credit for out-of-pocket incidental expenses initially proposed by Liberal Leader Raj Sherman.

Redford said the tax credit was intended to recognize the extra steps that teachers take for kids, such as buying non-curriculum extra materials for their classrooms.

“We’re acknowledging them and we’re thanking them for that,” she said in Drumheller.

With the credit, teachers would receive up to $50 back. The total cost to the province is estimated at $2 million.

“I’m glad that Alison Redford actually took the time to read our platform,” Sherman said Thursday. “It’s a good idea. Our teachers contribute so much in terms of their time,” he said, after announcing his own party’s plans to create a school lunch program.

ATA spokesman Jonathan Teghtmeyer said teachers appreciate the recognition, but the real problem is that “teachers are subsidizing public education” with their out-of-pocket purchases.

“Teachers would be more interested in seeing adequate and appropriate funding of public education,” he said.

Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith said more dollars need to make it into the classroom and the tax credit creates “an expectation that these are the kinds of things teachers should shell out for out of their own dollars.”