June 15, 2020

Let’s not further fragment K-12 education in Alberta – We have enough choice!

The Public School Boards’ Association of Alberta has a long history as passionate defenders of equity and inclusivity for all children, and we are staunch advocates of the many merits of the public education system in Alberta.

First and foremost, we have always been motivated by the principle of Children First. In practice this means that, as locally-elected school board trustees, we always consider the needs of the child and student first, to ensure that every decision we make is in the best interests of the student and their future.

We believe this is the fundamental purpose of local school board trustees: to be the best possible stewards of the education dollars the province allocates to each of our jurisdictions, and to ensure to that every dollar invested in K-12 education goes as far as possible.

PSBAA is proudly non-partisan, and we are passionate about being locally elected, because we are closest to the students, families and communities we serve. We see the challenges and successes in local publicly-funded education, and we are in the best position to make education decisions on behalf of students that will benefit them the most.

We also believe passionately in education choice, and that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work in every community. That’s also why it’s critical that we have local school board trustees, rather than department administrators in Edmonton, making choices about how education needs are met in each community.

However, we also recognize that, the more education administration systems we have in the province, the more education dollars are being diverted from the classroom. This is because each of these systems – whether public, separate, francophone or charter – all require their own separate administration teams to run each of these systems. Not only is there duplication in administration, there is duplication in busing, bricks-and-mortar buildings and maintenance.

Between the three main publicly-funded systems – public, separate and francophone – we believe there is enough choice already without further splintering limited education dollars to pay for still more systems. We are concerned that if the Alberta government expands the availability of private and charter schools, the existing publicly-funded education systems will receive less overall funding – or be forced to compete with each other for the same students rather than work cooperatively together for the benefit of all students and families. Fragmenting an already strained system does not lead to more student choice, but collaboration and cooperation most certainly can. Regardless of where the expansion is occurring – whether it is in the large metro or urban areas or rural Alberta, budgets across the province will be affected.

For instance, many public school jurisdictions across the province have a wide range of alternative programming options and schools from faith-based to the arts, STEM-focused education and sports programs, there is something for everyone. Add in the choice that comes with a separate or francophone education and K-12 students in Alberta are already exceptionally well-served.

The PSBAA believes that the Choice in Education Act needs to ensure equity of opportunity for all students. No school or system should be allowed to receive public dollars – collected from all Alberta taxpayers – and then be permitted to pick and choose which students to accept and which ones to turn away. Every student who wants to learn must have the opportunity to do so, in an inclusive and welcoming a school environment as possible. This is the principle of Children First in action.

Public, separate and francophone school systems should have the opportunity to – and should be strongly encouraged to – collaborate and cooperate more with each other and our community partners. Following up on the MacKinnon Report, we believe that Alberta Education will need to clearly specify what those incentives – and expectations – are, to ensure everyone is collaborating and cooperating for the benefit of all students.

All three systems also have locally-elected governors and are accountable to the province for the public funding they oversee and the decisions they make. We believe schools and systems should not receive public funding if they are not willing to have publicly-elected and independent governors and be accountable to the province for the dollars they spend.

Our belief is that local school boards must provide oversight to and have regular communication with all children being home-schooled. This will allow the school board the ability to ensure that students are making satisfactory academic progress and student needs for any community supports, resources or intervention are accommodated.

The recent provincial government survey bears out our contention that parents and families believe we have enough choice in education already, without adding more. More than 61 per cent of respondents were somewhat or very satisfied with the current choices in education being offered within Alberta. Less than 17 per cent of respondents reported being dissatisfied with the amount of choice currently available in the education system.

This is an important issue, and one that school jurisdictions will be discussing in detail in the months to come. We are looking forward to working with all of our education partners for the benefit of our students, families and communities. They deserve nothing less.