Eggen talks up benefits of $50M extra funding for school boards
Education officials say instruction fees, busing aren’t only areas that need help
The chairs of Calgary’s two school boards are thankful for the NDP government’s pledge to slash school fees but have questions about how the policy will actually work and what the government intends to do around education funding in the upcoming provincial budget.
A day after the NDP kicked off the spring legislative sitting by committing $50 million to cover fees for instructional supplies and busing — about 25 per cent of the total fees paid — Education Minister David Eggen was at Calgary’s Ranchlands School to tout the plan.
Joy Bowen-Eyre, chair of the Calgary Board of Education, said in an interview at the event that CBE would need approximately $11 million from the province to cover the cost of instructional supplies while busing costs are full of complications.
The province has said it will fund busing for students going to their designated schools at a distance of at least 2.4 kilometres, but CBE transports K-6 students when they are at least 1.6 km away and older students when they are 1.8 km away, she noted.
“We don’t know what the impact is to Calgary Board of Education whatsoever,” said Bowen-Eyre. “I would say we have more questions than answers at this point.”
Details of the funding breakdown are to be revealed in the March 16 provincial budget.
Cheryl Low, chair of the Calgary Catholic School District, also said the division isn’t sure yet how much money it will get and how it will be allocated.
“It’s very complex, many things to be considered, especially in the large urban centres where we have multiple programs of choice,” said Low at Eggen’s announcement.
“It will be interesting to see what is defined as instructional materi- als and services.”
In Thursday’s throne speech, the NDP said it would provide “stable, predictable funding” for schools, but local education leaders also want to know what that means.
The CBE, the largest school division in the province, is pressing the NDP to fund not just enrolment growth, but increasing costs within the system.
“The signals we’ve been getting is that education is a priority for the government ... but it being a priority and it being adequately funded are two different things,” said Bowen-Eyre.
One outstanding issue is bargaining with the Alberta Teachers’ Association, whose contract expired last year.
Low said the Catholic division expects that whatever settlement is reached will be covered by the government.
“We have certainly spoken to the minister about funding all costs associated (with education). Per-student funding alone doesn’t support education,” said Low.
Alberta governments have been running deficit budgets for the last decade, but the situation has been acute with low oil prices since 2014.
In the NDP government’s last financial statement, the government is projecting a $10.8-billion shortfall for 2016-17 budget year.
Eggen wouldn’t comment on the budget, but said the school fees leg- islation “sets the tone” for the government’s approach to education.
The government is committed to fully funding the fee reduction through efficiencies found within the education budget, he said. One area not covered by Bill 1 is lunchroom supervision fees, but Eggen suggested that in the future “we will look at all fees much more closely.”
Eggen noted that CBE does “deal with different complexities and challenges than some of the other boards but they also do achieve some economies of scale that are based on the very large enrolment that they do have and the very large budget they do have.”
The government also said in its throne speech it is committed to building more new schools following a wave of school construction launched by the former Progressive Conservative administration.
Eggen wouldn’t comment on how many more schools are needed in the province.
On Friday, the CBE released its three-year capital plan, which calls for 30 school construction and modernization projects.
Under the plan, construction in the first year would see new K-4 schools in Cranston, Evergreen, Coventry Hills/ Country Hills and Mahogany, a new K-9 school in Skyview, new 5-9 schools in Auburn Bay and Evanston and a new high school in north Calgary.
We don’t know what the impact is to Calgary Board of Education whatsoever. We have more questions than answers …