Calgary Board of Education prepares for millions in lost funding

CALGARY (660 NEWS) – The Calgary Board of Education says it will be short millions of dollars this year because of the provincial budget.

The CBE said it reviewed the UCP budget from Oct. 24 and found it will impact students significantly.

Speaking in Calgary Tuesday, Board Chair Marilyn Dennis and CFO Brad Grundy said the CBE will receive at least $32 million less this year than last year after three major grants were reduced.

With $32M planned cuts from the budget CFO Grundy says CBE will have to reduce its spending close to equivalent of $48M #abbudget

— steve seto (@steveseto) November 5, 2019

One of the three grants being scaled back provided the board with $18 million in supplies for schools and transportation.

“Eight million dollars went directly to our transportation portfolio. That allowed a number of our yellow bus riders to ride at no fee and any others who took Calgary Transit to get a rebate so they had a fee-reduced [trip].”

Along with the cuts, there will be larger class sizes as enrollment in the city has grown by more than 2,000 students.

RELATED: Teachers asked to ‘do more with less’ in provincial budget says ATA

“And given the growing complexity in our classrooms that will be a challenge.”

The board is looking at transportation service level changes and fee increases to help make up the funding shortfall.

“The challenge remains the same,” said Grundy. “Our public education is driven by the number of students and the number of classrooms. If we have fewer dollars that means we can hire fewer in-class resources to support those students.”

He adds it will be difficult to navigate these cuts late in the year.

READ MORE: Worries of teacher layoffs surface as UCP announces new schools

“Because we are now in the midst of the school year we can only save the portion of salary that’s left to run in the remainder of the year. That puts us in the unenviable to potentially lay off more people now to achieve the necessary savings over the remainder of the school year.”

Dennis says the CBE is looking at having to cut spending by “at least $48 million” if it wants to balance the budget by the end of the school year.