Calgary public system to cut up to 277 jobs
By Jason Fekete, Calgary Herald; with files from the Edmonton Journal
Ed Stelmach speaks at the Shaw Conference Centre on Thursday, May 13, 2010.Photograph by: Brian J. Gavriloff, edmontonjournal.comPremier Ed Stelmach indicated Wednesday the province won't toss a financial lifeline to a cash-strapped Calgary Board of Education that is preparing to eliminate nearly 200 teaching positions this fall due to budget woes.
And as local Tory MLAs defended the premier's decision, opposition parties insisted the government is largely to blame for the board's plight, after the province signed a lucrative five-year salary deal with teachers -- just before the last provincial election -- in an effort to secure labour peace.
Calgary's public school board will tap its entire $19-million reserve fund for the 2010-11 school year, but still be forced to chop 277 full-time jobs, including 192 teaching positions, to fund its $1-billion operating budget.
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Typical - an Alberta government that undercuts our educational system and now hands the school boards the bill.
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