Clearview Public Schools trustees are bracing themselves for funding cuts expected in this year’s provincial budget, which is expected to be released this week.
For months, board members have been anticipating a difficult budget, as the Alberta government responds to the decline in oil and gas revenues and the overall economic slump.
Soon, they’ll be able to see what kind of impact this will have on the school division’s bottom line and, in turn, on the Clearview schools themselves.
Complicating the situation further is the expectation that a provincial election will follow hot on the budget’s heels, as superintendent Peter Barron noted at the board’s regular meeting on Thursday, March 19.
“We’re anticipating a highly politicized budget here,” he said. “It may be something very straightforward, but I suspect it won’t be.”
As associate superintendent Peter Neale noted in his update, the board approved a budget conversations road map in January, which was followed by a planning workshop between senior administrators, trustees and principals on Feb. 2.
Through February and March, considerations have been drafted and surveys have been conducted, and the Leadership Learning Team has met to review the feedback and options that have been presented.
Once the budget is announced on Thursday, March 26, division leadership teams and principals will meet for a half-day session — planned for Friday, April 10 — to finalize their recommendations to the board.
Public consultations are also expected to take place in mid-April in both Stettler and Castor before reports, projections and recommendations are presented to the board at its April 21 meeting.
Hayden meets with board
Former PC MLA Jack Hayden, who is again seeking the Progressive Conservative nomination in the provincial Drumheller-Stettler riding, visited the board during the meeting to review some of the concerns and challenges facing the division.
Hayden noted his own experience as a member of the transition board when the school division was established and recalled some of the challenges then, including reserve funding levels, modernization of the Stettler complex and declining enrollment.
Board chair Cheri Neitz reviewed several current concerns, including the division’s struggles with funding transportation following the end of the fuel price contingency grant, and struggles following the delayed introduction of Student Learning Assessments (SLAs) for Grade 6 students.
She said the division continues to lobby for the modernization of the Stettler complex, particularly the centre wing and the middle school gym.
Trustee Dave Goodwin voiced his thoughts on a needs-based funding model, rather than a per-capita model, and also raised the topic of competition, which has been a growing concern as the division’s enrollment has continued to drop.
“I’m not sure that we need to have two school systems,” said Goodwin, “contrary to what the Constitution may say.”
Goodwin said the division also sees competition in the form of parents who opt to educate their children at home and expressed his concern that not all home-schooling families are adhering to provincial guidelines.
Finally, trustees noted their disappointment as the Zone 4 school boards have yet to meet with education minister Gordon Dirks. The meeting has been postponed twice and is thought unlikely to take place before an election is called.
Enrollment decline predicted
As part of the preparations for the upcoming division budget, Neale presented an estimated enrollment prediction for the 2015-2016 school year, based on figures provided in January.
The school division saw a budgeted enrollment of 2,382 students in September 2014. Neale’s report projected an enrollment of 2,349 students for the coming year, a decline of roughly 30 students.
Neale said that Erskine School, Coronation School, and Gus Wetter School in Castor were each forecasted to lose about 10 students in the coming year, based on demographics and other expectations.
The report was accepted for information, but Neale noted that he was waiting on confirmations from the schools and would provide a formal projection after March 20, which would be used in developing the proposed budget for 2015-2016.
Other business
The board meeting began with a one-hour learning session on the Google Apps for Education platform, led by director of technology Steve Meyer.
Superintendent Barron presented his regular report to the board. The board also heard a report from trustee Ken Checkel on the efforts of the transportation advocacy group.
The board accepted the final submission on two capital projects — roof remediation at Stettler Elementary School, completed in October 2014 at a total cost of $142,513, and the gym ceiling remediation at Erskine School, finished in February at a cost of $134,927.
A third project, the pavement of the parking lot at Coronation School, has been deferred to later in the year, subject to available resources and the 2015 provincial budget.
Trustees approved a motion to move forward with planned facility improvements at the Stettler schools complex, totaling $170,000. Costs in excess of available dollars from the capital reserve account will be covered through Infrastructure Maintenance Renewal funding, subject to approval from the provincial government.
Areas that will be affected by the improvements include the elementary school science room, the middle school learning commons, the high school learning commons and the high school office.
“We’re getting really tight for our timelines,” explained Neale. “We’d like to get it out for tenders . . . We need to start moving forward.”
Trustees again discussed proposed foundational statements for the Clearview school division but deferred the decision to an upcoming meeting.
The board heard reports on recent visits to Stettler Elementary School and Stettler Middle School, as well as verbal reports from trustees Ken Checkel, Dave Goodwin and John Schofer on the Rural Education Symposium attended from March 1 to 3.
Finally, the board discussed plans for both upcoming local government education meetings and the Stettler Trade Show in April, at which Clearview will have a booth offering complimentary pens, sticky note pads and temporary tattoos.
The board is scheduled to hold its Committee of the Whole meeting on Thursday, April 9, beginning at 4 p.m. at the division office in downtown Stettler.