By rdnewsNOW staff

Provincial funding cut

Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools announces phased plan for support staff layoffs

Apr 2, 2020 | 5:34 PM

Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools says its provincial funding for May and June is being cut by $1.3 million as a result of the Alberta government’s move to direct $128 million in K-12 money to the COVID-19 pandemic response.

The division says it informed staff on Wednesday of a “three-phase process” for support staff layoffs necessitated by the province’s decision.

Phase one saw 60 school bus drivers laid off effective March 31. Phase two will see 35 support staff whose responsibilities have been reduced in the new model of at-home delivery of learning laid off effective April 30. The third and largest phase will see 250 support staff, including educational assistants and librarians, laid off effective June 1.

“We are disappointed that the government has dictated that we lay off these valuable staff members, who are directly involved in supporting student learning, even in this new temporary model of online classrooms,” says Board Chair Anne Marie Watson. “We worked hard to keep these staff employed as long as possible, but we really wish we had not been forced into taking this action.”

Red Deer Catholic says the $1.3 million represents temporary funding adjustments in transportation, as well as a reduction in the base educational grant.

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“This was disappointing news to us because two weeks ago Alberta Education initially promised that funding would continue as status quo for the rest of the school year,” said RDCRS Interim Superintendent Kathleen Finnigan. “We developed an innovative approach to student learning involving all staff, such as educational assistants reading or supporting students with online assignments.”

The division says that in order to ensure the largest number of staff are able to continue educating and supporting students for a longer period of time it looked into other ways to reduce spending, including eliminating substitute teacher bookings and implementing a spending freeze on school budgets.

“This remains a very difficult process as we know that each person affected by temporary layoffs is a valued member of our school division,” Finnigan added. “We know the level of caring and commitment they have for our students. We want to emphasize that these reductions in no way diminish the work that they do, the connections they have made with our students and the support that they offer to our families and school communities.”

Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools serves over 10,480 students in 21 schools in Red Deer, Blackfalds, Sylvan Lake, Rocky Mountain House, Innisfail, and Olds. It also supports the learning of over 600 students in a Home Education Program.