(rdnewsNOW file photo)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

pros and cons

Local schools boards react to Budget 2022

Mar 1, 2022 | 5:59 PM

Local school boards are reacting in the days following the unveiling of this year’s provincial budget.

Budget 2022, shared by Premier Jason Kenney last Thursday, allots about $8.4 billion annually for kindergarten to Grade 12 (K-12) education.

READ MORE: Budget 2022: Alberta Government unveils full financial plan

Red Deer Public Schools’ (RDPSD) board of trustees says while the budget addresses some concerns, the exact impact won’t be known until they receive specific funding profiles at the end of March.

They also say that a general increase in funding of one per cent, plus an additional 4.6 per cent for transportation, should hopefully allow the division to ‘keep up’ with increasing costs.

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“Red Deer Public has invested significantly in student wellness, so we welcome the government’s investments to support mental health as these needs are very real. With the mandate of education seeming to be ever expanding, it was important to hear a push to get support from other ministries to provide supports that are best addressed within their domain,” the division says in its statement.

“There continues to be uncertainty and concern over implementation of the new curriculum. The budget included funding support for curriculum implementation. This is significant work that needs to be supported fully by the province with a clear path on where this is going and how it will best meet the needs to best prepare students for their future.”

RDPSD also notes concern about, “additional funding for charter and private schools that take students we need and value away from our system.”

READ MORE: Charter school society and ATA react to provincial budget

“Education is the best investment we can make for the future of our communities. Our board of trustees is proud of the supports and services we provide students and families in our community,” RDPSD states. “We are diligent stewards of these dollars, making sure we spend wisely to best meet the needs of 11,000 amazing students across our division.”

Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools tells rdnewsNOW it is also pleased with the ‘held harmless’ provisions.

At Clearview Public Schools, which services the Stettler region, several key announcements caught the division’s eye:

· 1% increase to the base funding ($150,000)
· 1% increase in facilities funding ($20,000)
· 4.6% increase in transportation services ($135,000)
· continuation of the “hold-harmless” funding to 2020-21 (pre-COVID)
· additional supports for curriculum implementation (details to be provided)
· additional supports for student well-being (details to be provided)

“It was very important to receive an increase in transportation funding, as we are already noticing higher costs in fuel as well as higher costs for maintaining and purchasing school buses,” says Superintendent Peter Neale. “Fuel prices are the highest we have seen in many years. Also, with the facilities funding increase and ‘hold-harmless’ dollars, facilities’ costs, which are expected to increase in electricity and gas, will be addressed using the ‘hold-harmless; dollars without seeing a decrease in funding for our schools.”

Clearview is expecting an additional $820,000 which otherwise would not have been available, thanks to these increases.

It also hopes to receive a cut of $1.5 billion announced over three years for school projects to fund its only current capital priority — the modernization of the junior high section at Wm E. Hay Stettler Secondary Campus.

READ MORE: Reaction to UCP government’s Budget 2022 pours in