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The $103-million announcement was the first major shift away from the 44-year-old Tory dynasty from newly minted Premier Rachel Notley and was needed urgently as school boards around the province attempt to firm up their finances for the looming 2015-16 school year.
“This is money that they (school boards) require going forward,” Notley said Thursday. “The cuts under the (former Premier Jim) Prentice plan wouldn’t have come into effect until September and now those cuts will not come into effect in September.”
The NDP said the funds will be used to aid an estimated 12,000 additional students flooding into the province this fall and also restore Tory-era cuts to grants for both First Nations students and English Language Learners. The 1.4 per cent cut to transportation funding is also a thing of the past.
The swell of cash was enough to stun Centennial High School Grade 11 student Syameena Pillai. After the Tory budget dropped, she and others at the school had gone public concerns about lacking tutorial time, teacher feedback and other studying necessities.
“I didn’t actually think it was going to happen, so I’m a little speechless,” she said of the announcement. “It just seemed a little implausible to me that there could be a government that actually cares about students.”
The Calgary Board of Education, which runs Centennial and more than 200 other schools, had been planning to dip heavily into its operating reserve to counter a $30-million shortfall after the Tory fiscal plan was released. The financial woes also prompted the board’s representatives, along with their peers elsewhere, to go public with what was described as an unprecedented showing of opposition to the budget.
CBE trustee chair Joy Bowen-Eyre, who was also celebrating her daughter’s high school graduation Thursday, said the NDP announcement left her “very emotional.”
“We’re absolutely thrilled today with this announcement, because it includes dollars for our new students as well as allows us to support stability in our system,” she said, adding, “We know people value public education — Calgarians value public education, Albertans value public education.”
Helen Clease, president of the Alberta School Boards Association, said the extra money allow would allow organizations to breath a “collective sigh.” She said the details of how the funding would be utilized were discussions for the days to come.
“Right now, it’s a time for celebration,” Clease said.
Opposition parties didn’t take issue with the extra education funds, but opposition Wildrose critic Mark Smith did question the lack of details about where the money would come from — Notley said the financials would be spelled out in an interim supply bill motion that’s due to go before the legislature.
As well, interim Progressive Conservative Leader Ric McIver accused the NDP of giving only “vague answers” about their plans for funding private and independent schools.
The NDP has spoken out against putting public dollars towards private schools in the past but Notley said Thursday’s announcement would assist all education bodies. She would only say the funding model for private schools was on her “radar” but didn’t delve into specifics on changes that may come.
http://metronews.ca/news/calgary/1380993/alberta-ndp-greenlights-plan-to-add-103-million-in-education-funding/
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