Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools is set to close St. Gabriel Online School as a result of provincial funding cuts (Photo: Google maps)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

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Cuts coming this fall for Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools

Apr 20, 2020 | 6:00 PM

Services and staff are on the chopping block for the 2020-21 school year at Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools.

In a statement shared with rdnewsNOW on Monday, the division says it will pass its annual budget in May, and that it will have to account for provincial funding that will be unchanged from 2018 and 2019 levels.

“For Red Deer Catholic, which is a growing school division, this means that each year we will have to educate more students with less funding,” says Anne Marie Watson, board chair. “Despite that, the board is committed to keeping class sizes at similar levels and maintaining our strong support for student and staff mental well-being.”

Watson adds that the majority of departments within the division will be impacted by budget cuts.

The division says funding will affect five key areas: the base instruction grant, which includes students from K-12, the services and support grant for specialized learning supports, as well as transportation, operations and maintenance.

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“We want to continue to focus on maintaining class sizes and supporting the mental wellness of our students and staff,” says Kathleen Finnigan, interim superintendent. “The new funding framework does not make distance learning a viable model for Red Deer Catholic, therefore we are proposing an elimination of St. Gabriel Online School. Our high schools could begin to offer online classes in September. St. John Paul II Outreach School may remain as an educational choice for students.

“We anticipate further reductions in staffing, but have not completed our decision making process yet,” Finnigan adds.

Other eliminations could come in the form of changes to the professional development model. The division currently holds partial PD days on selected dates where kids are sent home early.

The Discovery Learning Centre, which is at River Bend and is used as a learning resource for Pre-K and Kindergarten students, could also be impacted. Also proposed are changes to full day/every day kindergarten programs at three schools and the reduction of some central office and administrative positions in schools.

Last month, Education Minister Adriana LaGrange announced $128 million in K-12 funding for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year was being moved to the province’s COVID-19 pandemic response, citing a reduced need for educational assistants and other support staff. Red Catholic Regional Schools in turn announced a phased plan for its layoffs.