Originally published in the Medicine Hat News
Administrators from all three local school boards say they were caught off guard by the government’s Saturday announcement that they will temporarily reduce funding for schools to free up money for managing the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ministry has signalled a 14 per cent cut to all school base instructional grants and 51 per cent from their transportation grant, which the Alberta Teacher’s Association says could result in upwards of 26,000 layoffs of clerical staff, substitute teachers, educational assistants, bus drivers and custodians.
“I, like everybody else, was very surprised,” says Medicine Hat Public School Division superintendent Mark Davidson.
“We know that there will be a level of layoffs. We’re just not sure yet exactly how deep those layoffs will go.”
According to the ministry, school boards will have the opportunity to decide whom to lay off based on their local needs.
Davidson says any new cuts will complicate MHPSD’s efforts to make as smooth a transition as possible to online learning.
“We want to ensure that what we’re asked to do by government will be done honourably and in a way that seeks to have minimal impact on the children we serve and staff we value,” he said.
Dwayne Zarichny, the Medicine Hat Catholic Board of Education superintendent, says Saturday’s announcement runs counter to the government’s vow at the pandemic’s outset that they wouldn’t reduce education funding.
“At this point, what we’re doing now is trying to unpack exactly what that announcement means and who might be potentially impacted,” said Zarichny.
“We’re still in that stage of trying to develop a better understanding of what’s being asked of us and how we’re supposed to go about achieving those goals.”
Prairie Rose School Division superintendent Roger Clarke suggests the layoffs will throw the board’s plans for the remainder of the school year into disarray.
“This came after weeks of planning by our staff to ensure that a remote educational program could be delivered through the remainder of the year with the supports we had in place, that included educational assistants and bus drivers,” said Clarke.
In an emailed statement, Education Ministry spokesperson Colin Aitchison said the temporary layoffs will free up $126 million to spend on COVID-19 response measures.
“Funding will return to regular levels when in-person classes resume,” said Aitchison. “Staffing impacts will be determined on a school authority-by-authority basis. School authorities will look at the specific funding impact to them, and then determine the best course of action. They will consider how they are delivering at-home learning in their communities and take action based on their own circumstances.”
He cited speech language pathologists, occupational therapists, mental health workers, family school liaison workers and physiotherapists as some of the employees who will continue providing additional assistance to students and teachers.
Those affected by the layoffs should apply to the enhanced federal employment insurance program, Aitchison added.
CUPE Local 829 president Sharon Stolz, who represents custodians at the public and separate school boards, in addition to clerical staff and educational assistants at public, was unavailable for comment by deadline.
As the News previously reported, CUPE agreed last year to contracts for its MHCBE and MHPSD workers that include no wage increases for four years, which Stolz said was done to reduce the likelihood of layoffs.
Alberta Teachers Association president Jason Schilling called the government’s announcement “very concerning” in a statement.
“I appreciate we are in extraordinary times, but laying off tens of thousands of workers at this time is the wrong direction,” he said.
Jeremy Appel 