Alberta's schools and parents of children with disabilities and delays won't know until the end of March how much money the province is putting into a key early learning program.
The province released its 2021-22 budget on Feb. 25. Some parents and educators were keeping an eye out for changes to Program Unit Funding (PUF), an early intervention program that ensures young kids with disabilities are given the support they need to succeed in school. That program received deep cuts last year, leaving school boards out millions of dollars on this front. In recent months, school boards have called for the funding to be reinstated.
Alberta's 2021-22 budget includes an extra $40 million to Learning Support Funding, an envelope that includes PUF and numerous other grants.
“It is critical that Alberta students receive a world-class, high-quality education – and that starts with stable funding for school authorities,” said Financial Minister Travis Toews on Feb. 25. “We remain committed to providing school authorities with the resources they require to support safe learning for all Alberta students.”
Alberta Education Minister Adriana LaGrange posted on Twitter Thursday that school authorities will see their individual funding profiles before the end of March. She attributed that delay to "pending adjustments to funding under Learning Support Funding grants."
Due to pending adjustments to funding under Learning Support Funding grants, @AlbertaEd is not issuing funding profiles to school authorities at this time. The new 2021/2022 Funding Manual will be posted, and funding profiles will be distributed prior to March 31, 2021. 4/4
— Adriana LaGrange (@AdrianaLaGrange) February 25, 2021
Alberta Teachers' Association (ATA) President Jason Schilling held a press conference shortly after the budget was released, saying he is disappointed in the government’s delay in getting this information out to the public.
“To me, that is unacceptable – it is like coming to class without your homework done,” said Schilling, “The government needs to provide more specific details about the funding manual and just how we are going to see this play out into the next fiscal year.”
School boards – including Edmonton Public, which saw its PUF funding slashed by 76 per cent from $39 million to $9.5 million last year – have been lobbying for PUF funding to be reinstated. In November 2020, the Alberta Public School Boards Association passed a motion from Edmonton Public to fight for PUF's restoration.
The decrease in funding last year also resulted in students being limited to only two years in the program rather than three.“I know that PUF funding was a big concern because of the way it was cut and how that grant was reshaped,” said Schilling. “It wasn’t providing support for our youngest and most vulnerable students coming into the system when they needed it.”
He added schools will "have to wait and see" how the extra $40 million for Learning Support Funding will be divided among grants for school boards.
Education funding
Funding for education is remaining relatively stable this year, even though enrolment is down, with funding being estimated at about $8.3 billion this year.
The province’s weighted moving average (WMV) education funding model saw its first meaningful results with the budget announcement. Enrolment has been down over the course of the pandemic with Pre-K and Kindergarten classes having the most significant decreases.
“Our commitment to stable and predictable education funding is why we introduced the new K-12 funding model in 2020,” said Toews.
Alongside a one-time COVID-19 support payment from the federal government that adds up to $99 million, the province also included $130 million in COVID-19 mitigation funds for education.
In a media release, the province noted the capital side of the education budget includes plans to build or modernize 14 schools. Details on the new projects are expected in the coming weeks.
On Friday, the Alberta School Boards Association stated in a media release it "is pleased that school divisions will be held harmless from the impacts of pandemic-related enrolment challenges in Budget 2021."
