The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Truth About Funding

Collecting information on school board budgets is very challenging, below is information gleaned from press reports, school board information releases and local informants.  Readers wishing to provide additional information should email funding@ata.ab.ca or use the comment boxes provided.

Both teaching and support staff positions will take a hit next year as the Lethbridge public school division goes to a budget that has no wiggle room and is only balanced by pulling $1.4 million out of the district's reserves. So far, the draft budget includes reducing teaching positions by 13 or 14 and cutting 27 full-time equivalent support positions.

That translates to between 30 and 35 staff and will Include administrative support, technical support and education assistants. In addition, some district level staff positions have been reduced. A behaviour specialist and the lead English as a Second Language teacher positions will not be continued and the district administrator position will not be filled. The budget for supplies, resources and contracted services has been decreased by 5575,000. On top of that, the opening of Chinook High School will add to the utilities and maintenance costs. The loss in teaching positions is due to a change in the way the province allocated class size funding as part of this year's provincial budget. That spelled a loss of $1.3 million in funding to the district.

"In a nutshell, there definitely is a lot of pressure on our school system for next year with our student population growing and with fewer staff available, we anticipate our class size average will increase," said Barry Litun, superintendent.

Taking $1.4 million out of reserves puts the board in a tenuous position going ahead—like the 'here be dragons' that appeared on ancient maps to denote uncharted waters. "It depletes the district and school-based reserves to a razor-thin level of less than one per cent of the annual operating budget," Litun said.

( Source information and article from the Lethbridge Herald)

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Summer Conference (August 9 - 13, 2010)

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