New schools could sit empty
Money to staff and run them in short supply
New schools are set to open this year and next in the fastgrowing communities of Leduc and Beaumont, but it’s not clear where St. Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic Schools will find the money to hire staff and open them.
Edmonton Public Schools has set aside $2.6 million to equip four new public schools and a replacement school, opening in 2016-17, with textbooks and supplies. But that means less money to spend elsewhere.
It’s a looming issue for school districts across the province as school construction projects get underway while operating grants for education are cut.
The situation illustrates how the election debate around education has shifted since 2012.
Then it was about building new schools. Now, it’s about finding the money to run them.
“So if we have a new school being built, that’s great. We fill it up,” said Brad Vonkeman, president of the Alberta School Councils’ Association. “But there’s absolutely no funding there for those students that are going into that school, if they’re new students.”
The Alberta School Councils’ Association is encouraging voters to consider education policy when casting their ballots Tuesday, Vonkeman said.
“Make sure you do your research, get out to the polls and vote for what’s best for your kids.”
Under the 2015-16 provin- cial budget, introduced March 26 but not yet approved by the legislature, school boards will actually get $125 million more in operating dollars. But nearly all that money goes to cover teacher salary increases that were previously negotiated.
The budget protects frontline teaching jobs but provides no money to hire new teachers or cover new students who enrol in Alberta schools.
The Progressive Conservatives have said Alberta spends 10-per-cent more per student on education than the provincial average, and holding the line on spending is a prudent, balanced approach at a time when oil prices are causing a $7-billion budget shortfall. The Conservatives are still forging ahead with 200 school construction and renovation projects.
Opposition parties argue government mismanagement has contributed to a strained education system, in which overburdened teachers struggle to teach kids in large classes with fewer support staff such as aides.
All the parties except the Conservatives pledge to phase out or reduce school fees. The Alberta Party promises to keep per-student and capital funding in line with Alberta’s population growth, and the Liberals would build all the schools on the priority list. The Liberals and New Democrats would phase in full-day kindergarten, and the NDP would start a school lunch program. The Wildrose would work to support schools in small communities.
In 2012, the Progressive Conservatives campaigned on education promises. Then-leader Alison Redford restored previously cut education funding, then promised to build 50 new schools and renovate 70 more over four years.
Three years later, education is an election issue again as critics press for more dollars to keep up with Alberta’s population growth.
This month, representatives of 19 public and Catholic school boards came together to protest budget cuts to education grants. A group of Edmonton parents also started an online petition that has more than 350 supporters, said Edmonton public school board chair Michael Janz.
“Our parents and our communities are extremely frustrated,” Janz said.
“They want to know there will be schools providing high-quality education in the neighbourhood where they live, and whoever is elected will have to address their needs.” asands@edmontonjournal.com Twitter.com/Ansands