March 15, 2023

It Must Be an Election Year!

As we all eagerly awaited the 2023 Alberta Budget release earlier this month, I pondered where will Public School Education land as a priority and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. Now, the budget did not address all Public School Education needs, but what it did address was that we have the Ministry of Education’s attention, they are listening to us and are willing to work alongside us.

Let’s first consider the positives of the 2023 Alberta Budget release. I was pleased to see student transportation walk limits in rural areas are going to be reduced from 2.4 kilometers to 1 kilometer for K-6 students and down to 2 kilometers for grades 7-12. The budget plans to reduce transportation ride times by 9% and will provide funding for an additional 1250 drivers to be trained. Other appreciated funding allocations are educational assistant funding, capital infrastructure funding for new schools, enrolment growth funding increases as well as learning supports.

Although there is some great funding dedicated to improving education coming our direction, I can’t help but think of the implications that come with them. For instance, although walk limit reduction efforts are a step in the right direction, why not reduce walk limits to 1 kilometer for all students? Walking alongside a highway at any age is a safety issue and what happens in situations where one child in the family must only walk 1 kilometer meanwhile their sibling has to walk an extra kilometer. The budget also plans to provide funds to train 1250 new bus drivers, this is great, but I ask, where are these bus drivers coming from? A large part of the problem is not being able to hire bus drivers, so will schools in fact be able to find bus drivers to fill these spots? These are all questions that will need to be addressed.

In regard to infrastructure support, Public Schools fared well overall. In fact, out of the 58 projects in the budget for pre-planning, design and construction Public Schools account for 40 of these projects. This shows me our advocacy efforts are pulling through. However, for example, Calgary or Edmonton alone could have used half of this allocation individually in their divisions due to student growth in these two cities. We also see that many of our other school jurisdictions are also in dire need of repair and rebuilds and so we will continue to advocate for this issue. Although the government is taking steps in the right direction, when we consider the significant increase in cost of living, the budget does not keep up with the cost measures of inflation which is needed for Public Schools to flourish.

Now, it is clear Public School Education could use more funding, and so it is with displeasure I see Charter Schools are receiving $137 million over three years to create more school spaces. I also want to point out Charter Schools are also now eligible to be a part of the $414 million dollar funding injection for transportation. I ask myself, why are Charter Schools eligible for extra funding when they are not accessible to all students, are not inclusive of the general population and charge astronomical fees.
With that said, the 2023 Alberta Budget has addressed some of the Public School needs that we have been advocating for. I am glad to see our advocacy efforts have reached the ears of the Ministry of Education and I am happy to see funding increases in many areas where we need it…It must be an election year!

The 2023 Funding Manual for School Authorities has also now been released. As you know, the details within the manual will affect each school board differently and will be interpreted as such according to each division’s requirements and needs. I will be thoroughly reviewing the manual and will have more to say about the funding breakdowns in the near future.

I continue to look forward to working with the government as we build on our relationship into the future.

Dennis MacNeil
PSBAA President