Edmonton education funding for 2023-24 falls short: EPSB – Edmonton | 24CA News
The Edmonton Public School Board (EPSB) has accepted the $1.3 billion 2023-24 funds, however that doesn’t imply they prefer it.
Disappointment was felt across the desk Friday because the trustees checked out what chair Trisha Estabrooks mentioned is one other unsatisfying funds.
“Yet again we have a budget that doesn’t truly reflect the number of kids that we’re serving and doesn’t truly provide the kind of supports that we need,” mentioned Estabrooks.
“That this budget is happening when there’s great money in this province is inexcusable,” mentioned EPSB trustee Jan Sawyer.
Estabrooks mentioned although the funds elevated this 12 months, as a result of enrolment ranges went up at the next price, the funding allotted this 12 months truly quantities to a lower.
“We don’t see that parallel investment in our staffing costs – simply, we don’t have the money to hire the additional staff, be it teachers or educational assistants,” she mentioned.
Several issues may very well be forward, Estabrooks mentioned, together with bigger class sizes.
Estabrooks mentioned it’s because the method used to find out funding for colleges doesn’t take note of enrollment progress, as a substitute figuring out funds primarily based on a three-year student-population common.
“We need a funding model that is adequate, that is sustainable, that takes into account growing school divisions,” she mentioned.
Estabrooks and different trustees urged dad and mom to think about the problem when marking their ballots within the provincial election on Monday.
“I sure hope that if you haven’t voted yet that you keep (education funding) in mind on Monday,” mentioned Sawyer.
Though Estabrooks didn’t advocate for any social gathering, she mentioned she encourages dad and mom to ask candidates how they plan to “adequately fund public education in this province.”
“Which ever government gets in power after Monday, we will be doing our best to advocate and point out just how flawed (the formula) is.”
“I look forward to conversations with whoever’s in government to really work with school boards,” she mentioned, including the federal government ought to work with lecturers and college workers to give you a funding mannequin that can preserve tempo with rising enrolment.
Before the election interval began, the governing United Conservative Party (UCP) handed what it known as its largest schooling funds ever by funding 13 new colleges throughout the province together with one Ok to 9 college in Edmonton. The funds additionally supplied cash to rent greater than 3,000 schooling workers over the following three years, in keeping with the province.
The New Democrat Party (NDP) is promising to rent 4,000 new lecturers and three,000 instructional assistants and assist workers if elected.
“Right now Alberta has lowest per-student funding of any province in Canada and our schools are short 2,000 teachers and 1,500 support staff,” mentioned the NDP. “We’ll change that.”
— With recordsdata from Slav Kornik, Global News
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
