Budget shortfalls plague school boards across the province - immediate funding increases needed, says ASBA president
Release date: June 22, 2006
Armed with two research reports and testimonies from school boards around
the province, Alberta School Boards Association President Maureen Kubinec today
ramped up pressure on the provincial government for more funding for public
education immediately.
“
We are doing this for the class of 2007 and beyond, who will be shortchanged
without an immediate infusion of cash into schools. In a province as wealthy
as ours, it is a shame to have to cannibalize supports for students and download
costs to parents on a user-pay basis,” said
Kubinec. “We are asking our minister to help us keep Alberta’s
public education system at the head of the class nationally. And we are supporting
this call with research and specific testimonies from school boards.”
Against the backdrop of a booming economy and the province’s historic
negligence of school buildings, school boards can’t make ends meet, said
Kubinec.
The ASBA’s two Missing the Mark studies revealed:
- More school boards are running annual deficits. In 2005, 28 of Alberta’s
62 school boards ran deficits, compared with seven of 62 school boards in 2001 – a
trend that is troubling.
- Transportation costs are rising. Last year school boards, collectively, spent
$4 million more than they
received from the government to bus students to school. At the same time, the
amount of money school boards collected through transportation fees increased
to eight per cent of total revenue, compared with six per cent in previous
years.
- For the past four years school boards, collectively, have run deficits on
the budget item used to clean and maintain schools. In 2005 this collective
deficit was $10 million.
- In 2005, school boards collectively identified the need for more than $2.5
billion in capital investments in their three-year capital plans. For the same
three-year period, the provincial government is allocating $833 million dollars – or
32 per cent – of what school boards asked
for.
For more information contact: Maureen Kubinec, ASBA President at 1.780.482.7311.
Backgrounder
Backgrounder on funding situation at Edmonton Public Schools
Edmonton Public Schools is projecting a deficit of approximately $7 million by the end of the 2005-2006 school year. The projected deficit is due to a number of factors, including reductions in revenues and increases in expenses. The change in Plant Operation and Maintenance (PO&M) funding, a decrease in student enrolment and an increase in staffing costs have had a significant impact. To address this financial situation, district schools and central departments have reduced their spending and staffing for the 2006-2007 school year. Next year's budget also includes the first $1.75 million installment to address the projected deficit.
Like many jurisdictions across the province, Edmonton Public Schools continues to face increasing costs for salaries, supplies, equipment and services. The school district’s fixed costs have already eaten up the most recent funding increase provided by Alberta Education. Although the board is committed to minimizing the deficit's impact on the classroom, it is becoming increasingly difficult to protect students and parents from the effects of these funding shortfalls.
For example, the cost of delivering bussing services to students has been rising much faster than the funding provided by the provincial government. As a result, Edmonton Public Schools’ Transportation department is carrying a deficit of approximately $1 million. Reducing important transportation services to students was unacceptable to the board, so it reluctantly approved substantial increases to student transportation rates for next year.
Edmonton Public Schools is also facing challenges in terms of its school buildings. The district has identified the need for 13 new schools and 15 school modernizations. Over the past three years, the provincial government has only committed funding for one new school construction project. In addition, the money the district receives for the basic maintenance of schools has not kept up with inflation. As district buildings continue to age and as the city continues to grow, these pressures will continue to increase.
Ongoing funding challenges are also making it increasingly difficult for Edmonton Public Schools to meet its commitment to reduce average class sizes. Although the district is below the provincial targets for all grade levels except K-3, its financial situation has necessitated reductions in staff, which will result in rising class sizes for the 2006-2007 school year. It is anticipated that the increases will not exceed the provincial targets for grades 4-6, 7-9 and 10-12 over the next year. However, if additional funding is not provided, the district will be hard pressed to meet the provincial targets in the future.
For more information contact: Bev Esslinger, Board Chair, Edmonton Public Schools at 1.780.429.8135.
Backgrounder
Calgary Catholic School District Budget Overview and Highlights
Balanced Budget in 2006-2007
While the Calgary Catholic School District has a balanced budget for 2006-2007, budget reductions and reallocations of instructional funds were required. Maintaining 2005-2006 status quo operations in 2006-2007, plus projected expenditures for new costs would have resulted in an $8.8 million deficit given that the cost increases are surpassing grant increases. The District’s key pressures are transportation costs, and the growing cost of salaries and benefits, particularly in instruction. Instructional reductions were required due to lack of base instructional funding.
Increased Instructional Costs Surpass Grant Increases
In 2006-2007 (in addition to responding to the need to enhance program access through additional alternative programs or programs of choice), instructional costs for status quo operations are increasing beyond the instructional grant increases provided. Base instructional grants are increasing by 3.0 per cent and, for the most part, the increase is only 2.0 per cent on the remaining instructional grants. This results in an adjusted increase of 2.75 per cent, which is significantly less than the cost of maintaining status quo operations in 2006-2007. Increases in employee benefit costs are budgeted to grow at rates which far outpace these grant increases (average of 5.8 per cent), on a year over year basis, not including enhancements. This is primarily due to increasing costs of extended health care, dental benefits and long-term disability. In addition, the District also needed to budget for the operation of one additional school in 2006-2007 (with slightly declined enrolments), and for the one-time costs for supplies and computer costs for two schools opening September 2007. The collective agreement with the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) for 2006-2007 is yet to be negotiated. A 1.0 per cent increase is estimated to cost $1.9 million.
Class Size Initiative
As a result of an additional $4.1 million in Class Size Initiative funding, the District will be hiring an additional 45.5 full-time equivalent (FTE) Class Size Initiative teachers in 2006-2007, for a total of 192.5 FTE. These additional teachers will partially offset a reduction of 52.5 teacher FTE’s from base instruction, resulting in an overall 7.0 FTE net reduction. The additional Government funding for Class Size falls significantly short of the District’s forecasted actual average teacher cost ($78,000 budgeted versus $70,400 funded). As a result, the District will not be able to make gains in improving class size averages due to base instructional funding being insufficient to cover increasing costs.
Increased Transportation Costs
