Province mulls changes to Alberta school funding model

An Edmonton school classroom. (CTV News Edmonton)

After four years of criticism, the Alberta government is considering changing how schools are funded

School boards and advocates for teachers and students welcome change, and say the current model has amounted to years of consecutive cuts for growing schools.

That includes the Edmonton Public School Board, the city's largest school division. Julie Kusiek, the board's chair, says with 18 per cent of public schools operating over capacity, it's time for the province to change how schools are funded.

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"The weighted moving average has not been working for Edmonton Public Schools," Kusiek told CTV News Edmonton on Monday.

"We really look forward to working with the government to find those solutions that will."

Edmonton's Catholic school board told CTV News Edmonton in a statement the WMA "does not create the intended stability and predictability for boards experiencing exceptional growth."

"We estimate that for the 2024-2025 school year, we will have more than 2,000 students who are not fully funded using the WMA," Sandra Palazzo, the board chair for Edmonton Catholic Schools, said in the statement.

"An increase in overall education dollars would allow us to better manage the demands of a rapidly growing population."

The Alberta School Boards Association echoed those concerns Monday, with its president saying while boards "appreciate the predictability" of WMA funding, it doesn't "fully address" educational delivery costs.

"Increases in base funding that acknowledge these challenges would help school boards better meet the growing needs of students," Marilyn Dennis said in a statement. 

Premier Danielle Smith says the province is considering changes. Speaking to reporters last month, the premier said given the growth in student population, the current weighted moving average (WMA) funding model is not working.

"With this new surge (of students), it's not as responsive as it needs to be for enrolment growth, so the minister is going through the treasury board process and working on an alternative model," Smith said in September.

In 2020, the United Conservative Party government introduced the WMA with the promise it would give educators certainty

Instead of paying school boards per student based on fall enrollment, funding is based on averages of the prior and current year along with estimates for next year's growth.

Pointing to Statistics Canada data, Alberta Teachers Association President Jason Schilling says the province is spending the least per student in Canada.

"What we have now are students entering the system that don't have money attached to them," Schilling told CTV News Edmonton on Monday.

"That's why we are seeing increases in class sizes. That's why we are seeing a lack of resources and supports."

He says the current model underfunds kids in urban and rural schools.

"We need to ensure that a funding formula is funding our students from the moment they walk into a school to the moment they graduate," Schilling said.

A student advocacy group says it welcomes changes to what it calls a "failed policy" but is concerned a shift to per-student funding could lead to more public money in private education.

"Kids are leaving the system because of lack of support and then taking much-needed resources with them into private education," said Wing Li of Support Our Students Alberta.

Alberta Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides told CTV News Edmonton in a statement he is "confident that we will be able to revise the funding model to better meet the needs of all school authorities."