More students, fewer teachers: Edmonton Public Schools passes 'a tough budget'
Public school trustees in Edmonton are blaming the provincial government for a plan passed Friday that will result in fewer teachers and more students next year.
Edmonton Public Schools is expecting enrollment to grow by about 5,500 kids, while the number of full-time teachers falls by about 13.
"Simply we don't have the money to hire the additional staff, be that teachers or educational assistants, that we need to support our students," board chair Trisha Estabrooks told reporters.
The 2023-24 budget will be $1.28 billion, up about $80 million from this school year.
Much of that additional money is being spent on high utility costs, increased maintenance and insurance bills, salary increases and the rising costs of benefits, school administrators wrote in budget documents.
The division projects enrollment to hit 114,265 students, an increase of about 5 per cent.
About 5,390 "full-time equivalent" teaching positions are budgeted, a decrease from 5,403.
Overall, staffing will increase by 27 positions because of more educational assistants and support staff.
"We want to create possibilities for the kids and families we serve," Estabrooks said.
"Unfortunately, the possibilities that we need, we're not seeing that from the provincial government in our current budget. And so once again, it's a tough budget."
She believes Alberta has a "fundamentally-flawed funding model" and said the division was hoping for 12 new schools this year, but is only getting one.
"We're running out of space. We don't have the funding that supports enrollment growth," Estabrooks said.
The UCP platform states education spending has increased from $8.2 billion in 2019 to $8.8 billion this year.
It also says 106 new schools and modernizations have been announced by its government since 2019.
The NDP says that since 2019, 36,000 more students are attending schools in the province but the UCP has not hired "a single additional teacher."
The NDP is promising to hire 4,000 more teachers and 3,000 education support staff across Alberta and build more schools to ease overcrowding.
Alberta's election is May 29.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.