Layoffs pending at Edmonton Public Schools as district looks to cut $14M

Staff at Edmonton Public Schools are likely to hear this week whether they are out of a job as the province has told the division to cut $14 million in spending for May and June as students learn from home.

Adminitration is figuring out where to find budget savings demanded by the province two weeks ago, board chair Trisha Estabrooks said Tuesday.

It could include laying off teachers, educational assistants, and changing operational budgets.

"These are temporary layoffs to realize those budget savings," Estabrooks said.

Estabrooks said she expects the district will release information later this week on the number of staff and positions that will be laid off.

"I really do hope that the minister of education lives up to her promise in fact that these are temporary and that we can welcome the staff that we lay off back to our schools come September or when school opens, when classes resume," she said.

• Edmonton Public Schools faces $17.5M cut after provincial adjustments

The chair's comments came after Tuesday's school board meeting. Trustees met online.

The board heard the number of new students expected to enrol in the public school district will likely be lower than an average year, due in part to fewer international students making the trip overseas amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The district estimates just under 2,100 new students will sign up for September for a total of 107,000 students, down from the usual 3,000 new kids a year.

Estabrooks said it's always tough to predict what the enrolment will be at the district's 200 schools.

"This is an estimate. This is our best guess in terms of what our enrolment will be, but also what we predict we will receive from the provincial government."

Tuesday, the board also approved, unanimously but reluctantly,its preliminary request tothe province for the 2020-21 budget of about $1.18 billion.

It's an $11.6-million increase from the 2019-20 fall budget but won't translate to an increase past this year, the board has stressed.

In February, the province introduced a new funding model using a weighted moving average, instead of allocating a specific amount per student, the funding is based on a three-year average.

• Funding inadequate for Edmonton Public Schools, board chair says

Todd Burnstad, the district's chief financial officer, said it will be a challenge for school districts that get more students each year.

"We anticipate to have over 107,000 students in September, but our funding is more tied to our 105,000 student limit," he noted.

"Funding will always be behind us, we'll always be playing catch up from a funding point of view."

Trustee Bridget Stirling said she approved the proposed distribution of funds estimated for September2020 to August 2021under "substantial trepidation" that the province won't grant the requested amount.

"I am very, very concerned about moving ahead, once again, in uncertain budgetary circumstances," Stirling said during the meeting. "We saw our government make a promise on funding commitments and then two weeks later rescind that promise, and cut our budgets in the middle of a pandemic."

Colin Aitchison, press secretary to education minister Adriana LaGrange, told CBC News Tuesday that the province is still working on the funding allotments for 2020-21.

The board meets again April 28 to review potentially revised numbers for the next school year.

Estabrooks also requested a breakdown of what the division has done to accommodate students studying at home during the pandemic.

She said so far, 7,000 Chromebooks have been sent out to students needing the learning tool at home.