EDMONTON – The Edmonton Catholic Schools Board approved an interim balanced budget of $459 million for the 2015/16 school year Tuesday.
The board says over 80 per cent of that money will be directly benefiting students in the classroom.
Some highlights of the interim budget include $1.3 million in funding for full-day kindergarten, additional support for high school completion, and a two per cent raise for teachers’ salaries. Teachers will also receive a one per cent lump sum payment due in November.
In a statement Tuesday night, Board Chair Debbie Engel said “the interim budget has been prepared with the assumption that funding for new enrolments will be restored for the 2015/16 school year.”
In the Prentice government’s budget, there was no funding allotted for new students, despite an expected 12,000 new students across the province this September. That shortfall lead to 19 school boards from across Alberta to bring their concerns forward. There were also cuts for programs aimed at First Nations, Metis, Inuit, special needs students, and English Language Learners. Those cuts could be reversed when the NDP’s provincial budget is released in the fall.
The interim budget will be sent to new Minister of Education David Eggen. It can be revised after this fall’s budget.
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