The Alberta Teachers’ Association

It’s too early to tell how cuts will be felt in classrooms

Question: What effect will provincial budget cuts have on school boards and teachers?

Answer: The 2013 provincial budget will have varying effects on each school board in the province. While some grants, like the class size initiative and inclusive education funding, were provided a 2 per cent increase, most grant rates will remain unchanged. At the same time, a number of other grants were cut, including those associated with the Alberta Initiative for School Improvement, fuel costs for bussing and credits for the Learning Resources Centre. School boards also received a blanket reduction of funding with the directive that the reduction be applied to reduce school board administration spending.

Thirty-seven of 62 school jurisdictions will actually receive less money next year than they received this year and few of the others will get enough funding to cover the costs of increased enrolment.

It’s too early to tell how these cuts will be felt in the classroom. School boards will take the information presented in the budgets and their jurisdiction funding profile (www.education.alberta.ca/admin/funding/2013jurisdictionfunding.aspx) to develop their own budgets for the 2013/14 school year. As school boards approve their budgets, they will also develop an allocation model that will determine how much funding is provided for each school. The effect on staffing that will result from reductions in funding transfers will become clearer at that time.

It is difficult to imagine that the overall reduction of $14.5 million in funding to school boards, along with rising costs and increasing student population, will not result in teacher layoffs and larger class sizes.

In response to the cuts to education funding, the Alberta Teachers’ Association is undertaking communication and lobby efforts. You may have already seen our television commercials about class sizes in Alberta. The ATA will be asking teachers and our parent partners in education to stand up and speak out to “Stop the Cuts.”

In the meantime, the Association is in contact with senior department officials and the minister of education to express teachers’ concerns. As always, the ATA will assist individual teachers who may be affected by staffing cuts. Teachers who find themselves in this situation are encouraged to contact Member Services for advice. In Edmonton, call 780-447-9400; in Calgary, 403-265-2672; elsewhere, toll free, 1-800-232-7208.