On the surface, Budget 2022 looks very good, said Joe Becigneul, chair for Greater St. Albert Catholic Schools.
“They’re promising school divisions the same amount of money as last year, which is a good thing. Then there's a provision for those with increasing enrolment so that they factored in a little bit of an inflation factor,” he said.
On Feb. 24 the province announced it has increased operating expenses for kindergarten to Grade 12 by 1.7 per cent in its 2022 Budget, to $7.8 billion, up from the $7.7 billion budgeted for the 2021-22 fiscal year, which ends in March 2022.
This is a total of $8.4 billion when adding “own source” revenues and federal funding for COVID-19 in 2022-23.
Michael Brenneis, the associate superintendent of finance with St. Albert Public Schools, said they are approaching the budget with guarded optimism.
“The reason why I'm really being cautious with what I say is, we do know that they've committed to a one-per-cent increase in the basic instructional grant and a one-per-cent increase in operations and maintenance. And we also know that transportation should receive about a 4.6-per-cent grant increase,” said Brenneis.
Brenneis said St. Albert Public is waiting for documents from the province to come out by the end of March to show how all the funds are being allocated. Until those come out, Brenneis is unable to say much about the budget.
Becigneul agreed, school divisions won’t get their individual budgets until the end of March, so it is difficult to analyze the provincial budget for education in his school division, too.
“At this point in time, everything seems to be positive — just in terms of the way it's been laid out to us. We're playing wait and see now to get our individual budget,” Becigneul said.
Under the three-year capital plan, the province is set to spend $1.5 billion on school projects, including building 15 schools; however, the province will not yet say where those schools will be built.
“We're not anticipating any new builds for St. Albert Catholic, but we do have a couple of schools that could certainly use some renovation,” said Becigneul.
One of those schools that could use renovations is École Father Jan. Becigneul said the division also has a couple of schools that are busting at the seams
“We have a couple of very full schools with multiple classrooms attached that are being used, and then we have a couple where we don't need the mobile classrooms,” he said.
“We'll wait and see how that pans out.”
Brenneis was able to comment on the capital plan. He said St. Albert Public is hopeful, and he thinks they make a strong case because of enrolments.
“We certainly know we have a profound need for high school space. If you look at everything from our strong kindergarten enrolments to the growth we've seen in our cohorts already that are already just moving forward."
Budget 2022 includes targeted funding for students who have academic challenges and learning delays due to the pandemic. There will be $30 million set aside for the 2022-23 fiscal year and $40 million in each of the following two years.
Becigneul said it was great the province recognized there was a big need there and allocated resources to mental health.
In the budget documents, the province said access to specialized services will be expanded to home education families through a new program to ensure all children are receiving the support they need.
The province has also budgeted $13 million in 2022-23 for ventilation improvements for the School Safe Indoor Air initiative.
To support the implementation of the new curriculum for kindergarten to Grade 12, the province plans to spend $191 million over three years for the update. The province has earmarked $59 million for teacher training in the 2022-23 fiscal year to support the update.
Becigneul said it’s never enough. He said the province has struck committees in terms of developing the resources to implement the curriculum.
He said it remains to be seen what sort of education teachers will need, what sort of upgrading on materials will need to happen, and what resources will need to be brought into classrooms.
“Money has been earmarked for that. It remains to be seen that that was enough,” he said.
The province has budgeted an additional $39 million over three years for student transportation. Budget estimates for the 2022-23 fiscal year are allocated at $386 million. The province has a target of $392 million for 2023-24 and 2024-25.
Becigneul said the transportation budget also looks pretty good at this point in time.
“With a small increase, we should be OK. The biggest sort of issue for the busing companies has been the increasing insurance. And so, the government has also [recognized] that as well,” he said.
Becigneul said schools open in September and based on their projects they might need a couple more buses.
“So, as of today [the budget] looks pretty nice,” he said.
The province is planning to invest $3 million over three years in a financial literacy initiative for junior and high school students.
The budget documents state the province is also expanding opportunities for vocational education with focused programming in both skilled trades and the field of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) under the Alberta at Work initiative.
The province has said that, through this initiative, the ministry of education will develop and expand collegiate programs and charter schools, specifically opportunities in the trades that will deliver on support to the collegiate model.
This will be led by Advanced Education but will be integrated with the K-12 system. The province has allocated $25 million over the next three years to support this.
Becigneul said there will be more of a story to tell once the individual school division numbers come in.
“At this point in time, [the budget] seems to be favourable,” he said.
