On May 12, Alberta School Boards received a 30-day extension to submit their budgets for the upcoming school year by Alberta premier-designate Rachel Notley.
Originally, under the Progressive Conservatives’, the school boards were expected to have their fiscal plans submitted to the province by May 31 however, the school boards were left with many questions after the results of the election proved that the Alberta NDP would now be in charge.
The 2015-16 budget that the government released in March raised many concerns for school boards like funding and growth. In an unprecedented move some of the school boards, including Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) rallied together and spoke out against the proposed budget.
Calgary Catholic School District Chair Linda Wellman said that they are planning on seeing an additional 1,200 students per year enter the catholic system over the next 3 years. “The PC’s proposed budget created a $16.5 million dollar shortfall which meant we were going to lose positions which would have a direct impact in the classrooms,” said Wellman.
“We have a great deal of hope now because Premier designate Notley has indicated that education is a priority for her government and that they will fund growth,” stated Wellman, “Things like low class sizes and programs like full-day kindergarten are all positive and good for children so we obviously support funding for those.”
“It has always been our belief that education should always be treated as an investment & not an expense,” stated Wellman. “The new government is only a week old – in general terms we are willing to work with anyone and everyone for the common purpose to deliver the best for our children because the public have the right to expect nothing but the best of our education.”
Presumably, Notley and the New Democrats will be sworn in over the coming weeks and school board officials are expecting to hear details of the new budget soon after that date. In the meantime, Trustees for the CCSD met on May 13 to review a draft budget. “Our budget process at Calgary Catholic is ongoing – it’s being worked on all the time. We are hopeful and optimistic because the NDP have always been supportive of students.”
CCSD has two schools in Chestermere, Our Lady of Wisdom Elementary (K-6) and St. Gabriel the Archangel which serves grades 7-12.
