Caroline Zentner
lethbridge herald
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An editorial cartoon about education funding in Alberta might well depict the province as an ocean-going vessel with 62 smaller ships representing Alberta school boards tethered to it and following in its wake.
And if the big ship hits rough seas, the smaller vessels will have to struggle with the waves. Those waves hit school boards especially hard last spring as the province was in a revenue crunch due to the global economic situation. With less money to go around and a commitment to fund salary increases due to teachers the province froze, cut or eliminated other grants to school divisions.
Barry Litun, superintendent for the Lethbridge public school district, told the audience at Thursday's Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs the district had to cut 25 teaching positions and 30 support staff positions as a result.
The world financial crisis, coupled with the collective agreement with teachers and the system of education funding in the province, left Alberta school boards in a tough spot.
"Education is now dependent upon the fortunes of the provincial fiscal situation," Litun said.
When Alison Redford became premier she reinstated about 60 per cent of the education funding that had been cut and the district was able to hire back some of the positions that had been lost. But school boards are hoping to find better ways to navigate stormy waters.
"School boards across the province are asking for adequate, stable and predictable funding to be able to plan for the future," Litun said. "I accept Minister (Thomas) Lukaszuk's position that it's hard for him or the government to provide predictable funding unless they have predictable costs."
School boards' biggest expense is salaries. Negotiations are underway between the province, the Alberta Teachers' Association and the Alberta School Boards Association to reach a new agreement with teachers.
"From the school boards' position, if there could be an agreement and then if there would be a commitment to fund that agreement that would allow us to ensure moving forward," Litun said.
To give school districts some flexibility, they're asking the government to fund them slightly above any figure reached in a collective agreement.
"The one thing our district has proposed is that local jurisdictions, however, should have some access to the local property tax," he said.
Before 1995, school boards received about half their funding from the education portion of the municipal property tax bill. Due to inequities that resulted because some jurisdictions had the good fortune to be in regions with a large industrial tax base, the province decided to fund all school boards.
"That then left the entire control of funding for education in the hands of the provincial government," Litun said. "Local school boards in Alberta do not have the ability to raise taxes; they do not have the ability to generate revenue."
As it stands, the district needs a new westside elementary school and other schools need modernizing. Getting access to a portion of the local municipal property tax would allow districts to plan for renovations. In addition, under the new education act being proposed, school boards will be able to borrow money. Having a stable amount of funding would allow districts to plan ahead for such infrastructure needs.
"We also want a review of the funding framework," Litun said.
Students in Lethbridge are taught by best trained teachers in the province. Having a faculty of education at the University of Lethbridge has allowed many teachers to obtain master's degrees and that entitles them to higher pay. Teaching costs are, therefore, more expensive in Lethbridge than elsewhere in the province.