The Alberta Teachers’ Association

Question: What can I expect in the ATA’s proposed budget for 2012/13?

Answer: The proposed budget for 2012/13 is very much a stay-the-course budget, entailing a modest 2 per cent fee increase.

Only two new programs are proposed for 2012/13. The first is a research project on teacher workloads in selected elementary, junior and senior high schools. Teacher workload has been identified by members as a major concern, and the Association needs a solid research base to support its advocacy and bargaining response to specific workload issues.

The second new program will provide professional support to teachers working with First Nations, Métis and Inuit (FNMI) students in accordance with the recommendations of the FNMI policy and action plan.

At the same time, a number of research projects and funding commitments will end this fiscal year and will, therefore, no longer require funding. Other programs are undergoing a significant shift in focus to ensure their continuing relevance and timeliness.

In 2012/13, Alberta’s teachers will be faced with a rapidly evolving political situation and a return to collective bargaining for the first time in five years. The proposed budget is designed to ensure that the Association retains its ability to lead, represent and protect its members and the cause of public education in the face of the challenges ahead. At last year’s Annual Representative Assembly (ARA), teachers made it clear that they did not want substantial cuts made to the ATA’s ability to do its work, and the proposed budget preserves the staffing levels that make that possible. Furthermore, the budget ensures that the ­Association’s Special Emergency Fund, which can be drawn upon to support teachers engaged in labour action or to fund emergent campaigns, is fully funded at about $16 million.

To cover increased staffing expenses and to compensate for the revenue loss resulting from the failure of government and school boards to restore 350 of the teaching positions lost in 2011, the budget projects an increase of $27 in the Association’s annual fees for full-time active members, from $1,194 to $1,221. Still, the fees charged to teachers in Alberta would be below those charged in British Columbia and Ontario, our usual comparators, and, as a proportion of teachers’ salaries, remain among the lowest in the country.

The budget, along with numerous policy resolutions, will be put under the microscope at this year’s ARA, in Calgary. More than 450 teacher-delegates from across Alberta will debate and approve a budget to take the Association forward into the next school year. I encourage you to review the budget feature in this issue of the ATA News and share your views with your elected representatives.