OKOTOKS - The Alberta education minister informed Foothills School Division trustees her department will work with them when the unknown is announced in February — that is, funding for education.
“I assured them that I have an open door policy and really want to hear from school divisions,” said Education Minister Adriana LaGrange, who met with division trustees on Jan. 29 at Meadow Ridge School. “I have committed to every school division — and I reiterated it to Foothills — that my department and myself will be sitting down with every school division so we can go through their profiles and explain the new model and how it impacts their divisions.”
However, how the funding will be delivered — and how much — is as big a mystery for trustees as calculus is to a kindergartner.
““That does scare me,” Foothills division chairman Larry Albrecht said. “It’s an unknown. Our staff is doing all sorts of contingency plans, but until we specifically know what the numbers are, and how we can work with that — it’s an unknown.
“We are anxious to hear the budget from the government.”
He added LaGrange was informed the division is working with the division’s stakeholders — students, parents, teachers, administrators and others — to discuss how to handle potential budget difficulties.”
In its lone budget since the governing UCP was elected in the spring, the result was the division had to tighten its purse strings.
Foothills had budgeted for a $2.6 million deficit on its $97.26 million budget in June but that deficit was boosted to $4.5 million in November due to changes in the provincial funding announced in October and the division's skyrocketing insurance cost.
So far, it has not affected the classroom.
“We talked (with the minister) about our education plan and the successes we have in the division with educating kids and a few of the challenges in terms of potential budget challenges and what that might look like,” Albrecht said.
LaGrange called it an honest and frank dialogue with the trustees.
She would not give details on future funding, other than to say it will be predictable.
“The key elements of the new funding and assurance model is sustainable, predictable funding,” she said. “I was a former school board trustee and I know how important it is to have predictable funding.
“And to have the information early on so you can make informed decisions.”
She said the funding model will be available shortly after the budget announcement rather than after the Sept. 30 enrolment count, which has been done in the past.
“It gives them an additional six months of planning,” she said.
LaGrange is a former trustee on the Red Deer Catholic School board and a former president of the Alberta Catholic Schools Trustees Association.
A highlight of the minister’s visit was being given a tour by four students of Meadow Ridge School, which opened at the start of the 2019-20 school year.
“It’s lovely,” LaGrange said. “Nice open areas, lots of natural light, you can see a lot of thought went into it to ensure is a place that children can learn in."
She said the students who acted as tour guides showed her what they appreciated about the school, including the natural light and the ability to raise garage-style type doors emptying into foyers to make for collaboration learning with other classes.
“They showed me all the opportunities that they have — especially the gym which was a key-point for all four of them.”
