The Alberta Teachers’ Association

Parties outline strategies for education

The talk was passionate, the voices many and the words spoken were heard by more than 10,000 stalwart teachers.

On April 3, candidates running in the provincial election and thousands of teachers participated in the Alberta Teachers’ Association’s first-ever all-party telephone town hall. By the time the two-hour town hall wrapped up, it was clear that the Wildrose Alliance Party believes in competition in education. The Wildrose’s Vitor Marciano said, “We want to encourage the ­establishment of new public charter and other not-for-profit independent schools.” It was also clear that of the five political parties present, four advocated a collegial and inclusive approach to education’s challenges, whereas the Wildrose Alliance Party favoured a more parochial solution to everything educational, from funding to bargaining to school choice and teachers’ workload.

During the town hall, ­moderated by Public Interest Alberta’s Bill Moore-Kilgannon, candidates Dr. Raj Sherman, leader of the Alberta Liberal Party; Glenn Taylor, leader of the Alberta Party; Deron Bilous, a teacher and candidate, New ­Democratic Party; current Education Minister Thomas Lukaszuk, Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta; and Vitor Marciano, senate candidate, Wildrose Alliance Party, presented their views on education funding, policy and the teaching profession. But most important, teachers in the field listening in had an opportunity to pose their questions in person by telephone to the candidates.

Minister Lukaszuk defended his government’s record on education but acknowledged that more transparent funding formulas are needed. Marciano immediately challenged the minister on why it took so long for the government to figure out that budgets and funding can be delivered more efficiently. Marciano said that the Wildrose Alliance would bolster education funding by cutting wasteful government spending. His party would push that money directly to the classroom, he said.

Though all candidates supported long-term, predictable and sustainable education funding, they differed on how money would be dispersed. Notably, the Wildrose Alliance advocated a “grassroots” approach, whereby schools, parents, students and parent councils would have a say in how and where money is spent. “Wildrose believes that there should be more parental choice in education,” Marciano said. Parents and students would also be given more school choice under a Wildrose Alliance government, be it a public, Catholic or charter school.

The Wildrose Alliance’s view that more choice automatically creates opportunity also extends to bargaining. Marciano said that local bargaining, not provincewide negotiations, would be more beneficial to teachers. Lukaszuk disagreed and said that individual bargaining would create untold headaches, because different salary schedules, working conditions and classroom conditions would be negotiated local by local, resulting in an inequitable and unmanageable patchwork of collective agreements. Still on the topic of bargaining, Lukaszuk expressed satisfaction with his government’s sound working relationship with the ATA and with the province’s school boards. He was particularly proud of the pension settlement and ensuing five years of harmony, all thanks to the 2007 agreement reached between teachers and the government. Lukaszuk expressed interest in seeing the relationship continue, as it would prove central to addressing teachers’ remuneration and workload, he said.

Though the Alberta Party, NDP, Liberals and PCs acknowledged the need to address teachers’ workload, the Wildrose Alliance stated that it is not the role of the government to resolve issues of workload. The Wildrose believes that such matters are best dealt with at the local level by schools and parents.

Without question, all candidates participating in the town hall believed in the importance of education, and all acknowledged teachers’ hard work and dedication.

Albertans have a lot to think about when they cast a vote for the future of their province on April 23. Teachers would be well-advised to pay close attention to the parties’ education platforms and promises. Listening to the ATA town hall audio and attending candidates’ public forums will help teachers make an informed decision.