Alberta Education minister scolds school board for threatening kindergarten cuts

Alberta's education minister is calling on the Calgary Board of Education to balance its budgetwithout cutting services to students.

The school board says it must seriously consider cutting several full-day kindergarten programs in order to help make up an estimateda $35.6-million shortfall for the 2018-19 school year.

The board's provincial funding is appropriate for its enrolment increases, counters Education Minister David Eggen.

"I expect the CBE to balance its budget without impacting front-line staffing levels or classroom conditions and I have sent a letter to the board today outlining these expectations," Eggen said Thursday in a statement.

The minister pointed to a recent audit of the school board that revealed the board has commonly issued"premature warnings of budget deficits" but then posts surpluses.

Along with under-budgeting revenues, CBEwas found to have filed administrative expensesunder instructional costs.

But school board chairperson Trina Hurdmansays expenses are rising faster than funding.

Teacher salaries arehigher, new schools have higher operating costs and fees charged to parents are capped.

'Heartbreaking decision'

The board has been "really looking in every nook and cranny" for savings, she said, including offering full-day kindergarten in only10 elementary schools.

The board has 15 schools listed as offeringfull-day kindergarten this school year. The proposed cut would meanremoving the program from five schools for2018-19.

"I wish it was something we didn't have to do," Hurdman told theCalgary Eyeopener on Thursday.

"These are heartbreaking decisions that we have to make in education when we're facing these budgetary challenges, because we know that for so many students, full-day kindergarten would set them up for future success."

Hurdmandid not have a list of which schools are proposed to no longer offer full-day kindergarten for September2018.

In order to maintain existing programs,the school board said in its budget reportthatit would need a 4.1 per cent increase to instructional funding from the Alberta government.

The board will decide which schools will keep full-day kindergarten based on community need.

Board staff look at census and Statistics Canada data to determine the neighbourhoods' demographics, looking for large groups of students considered "at-risk." Those students would benefit the most from entering school early, Hurdman said.

"That might change from year to year, and so we'll just take the 10 schools that we have determined need it most," she said.

In Alberta, children must begin school by age six but parents can choose to send them to part-time or full-time kindergarten, where available, at age four. That starting aged will be limited to age fivein 2020.

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With files from theCalgary Eyeopener.