Edmonton public schools enrolment spikes, funding hits over a billion dollars
CBC
Edmonton public schools are expecting to see more than 5,000 new student enrolments in the fall.
This is a five per cent increase from September 2022, with the estimated revenue for the division this year sitting at $1.29 billion, just above a six per cent increase from the previous year.
"This is clearly not enough money to be able to do the job that we need to do," said Superintendent Darrel Robertson.
During the Edmonton Public School Board meeting Tuesday afternoon, Robertson said once inflationary pressures and logistical costs such as utilities and insurance are deducted, the division is left with $26,150 per student.
Approximately 74 per cent of the total funds are allocated to resources for students in the classroom, and the remaining balance goes toward fixed costs.
The enrolment projection for the upcoming school year is set to hit 114,265, not including international students.
"It's a significant hit to the budget and when you factor it in over our 213 schools, it will have an impact. Our schools will feel budgetary pressures as they're organizing for instruction next year," Robertson said in the meeting.
A particular concern for the division is the dropping amount of its reserve fund, which it has relied on to soften the impact of frozen funding in previous years.
The district has been facing higher operating costs due to inflation for fixed costs like utilities, insurance and school maintenance. The result is that the 74 per cent of funding going into the classroom, is a lower amount than in previous years.
The weighted moving average formula has been controversial since Education Minister Adriana LaGrange introduced it in February 2020. The formula is calculated using enrolment figures from the previous, current and upcoming school years.
Trustee Marcia Hole called the formula complicated and last year when discussing the budget for the current school year, trustee Trisha Estabrooks said although the budget increased it leaves hundreds of students unfunded.
Critics say the formula benefits rural schools with declining enrolments and hurts the large metro school boards with a growing number of students.
Funding rates for the specialized support grant, which is meant to provide support and services to promote inclusive learning, is set to increase by 10 per cent.
Due to the increased enrolment rates, the grant is higher than previous years but board members said the increase still does not match the demand.
The new owner of Ontario steelmaker Stelco says his company "will not disappoint the people of Hamilton and Nanticoke," where the business's major facilities are based.
A Winnipegger is warning others about an intricate scam she says she almost fell for.
Fort William First Nation is opposing a planned redevelopment of the Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) 117 year old Kakabeka Falls Generating Station, which is located in their traditional territory.
A building that sits at the corner of Sussex Street and Brunswick Avenue has had many lives over the last century — being a church, a school and offices. Now it's set to become housing, at a time when the city sorely needs it.
A Waterloo, Ont., elementary school principal will be sentenced in the new year after pleading guilty to child sexual exploitation charges following a joint investigation that involved the London, Toronto and Waterloo police services.
Students at UPEI have let their student union know what they want from the province this fiscal year, and those priorities are reflected in a 2024-2025 advocacy document brought to the legislature on Wednesday.
Larger communities in the N.W.T. will soon see a boost in their territorial funding to maintain infrastructure and deliver services — like water and waste management — but the increase still falls short of what communities need.
The toxic drug crisis has taken more than 47,000 lives in Canada since 2016 and the synthetic opioid fentanyl has become a household name. But now, what's believed to be an even more potent class of synthetic drugs is showing up in drug busts across the country: nitazenes.
The Liberal government and the NDP have agreed to introduce a two-month GST vacation on certain items before the holiday season, Radio-Canada has learned.
Veterinarians are warning Londoners to make sure their dogs are vaccinated and keeping clean after a deadly virus outbreak was declared in London this week.
Registered nurses rallied in St. John's Wednesday as part of a week-long convention, again calling on the Newfoundland and Labrador government to create permanent solutions to staff shortages and workplace violence.