Lethbridge Collegiate Institute. (Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Province announces new model of funding for K-12 education

Feb 18, 2020 | 1:39 PM

EDMONTON, AB – The Government of Alberta says their new model of funding for schools will be more streamlined and predictable.

“In the 2020-21 school year, every single division will see an increase in operational funding,” reads a media release from the provincial government.

Lethbridge School Division Board Chair Clark Bosch believes that with a new framework, they’ll hopefully see improvements.

“I would say I’m not worried right now, on the 27th we might start to worry, if the numbers come out and they aren’t as favourable as we had hoped. So that’s really when the rubbish starts hitting the road when the numbers are released.”

Bosch is still very cautious about what might be coming.

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“We have been slowly progressing to more and more responsibilities at the school level and doing a great job of it so down the road, if you’re responsibilities increase and your funding decreases, that’s a challenge.”

The new model allocates three years of funding based on enrolment counts, compared to the current system of one-year enrolment counts. Education Minister Adriana LaGrange believes this will ensure funding is more consistent and allows schools the ability to make longer-term plans.

“Alberta will continue to have one of the best-funded education systems in the country. This new model will drive more money to our school divisions for use in the classroom and provides them with the flexibility they need to meet the unique needs of their students. These changes will ensure our divisions continue to be equipped to provide our students with a world-class, high-quality education.”

The number of grants that are available to school divisions is being reduced from 36 to 15. It is not clear at this time how the dollar amounts for these grants may or may not change.

Associate Minister of Red Tape Reduction Grant Hunter says this change will simplify things for school boards and will give more leeway to direct funding to support the needs of students.

“This government is committed to cutting unnecessary red tape by one-third to reduce costs, speed up approvals and make life better for Albertans. I am thrilled that we are updating and streamlining the K-12 funding model, while maintaining robust measures to ensure money is being directed to the classroom. School boards can now spend less time on unnecessary reporting and administration work and more time focusing on students.”

Highlights of the new model include:

• Ensuring funds are directed to classrooms by providing a targeted grant system for administration instead of a percentage of overall funding
• Protecting vulnerable student by providing funding to support specialized learning needs or groups of students who may require additional supports
• Better managing system growth, specifically by enrolment growth and associated costs. The government will use a three-year average when calculating funding based on enrolment
• Providing funding predictably for school authorities by informing them of funding commitments from the province by the end of March each year instead of the end of September
• Enhancing system accountability for school jurisdictions. “The new model will include new accountability measures keeping school boards accountable for student outcomes, community engagement and continuous improvement.”

Specific details of each grant and each school division’s funding will be available in the 2020 Budget, which is expected to be released on February 27.

Representatives from the Lethbridge School Division will react to the funding model announcement Tuesday afternoon. More information to come.

The Alberta Teachers’ Association released what is allegedly the funding commitments from the province for school divisions last week. It claims that most school boards in southern Alberta can expect to receive cuts to their budgets. More details here.