CBE Stick with Teacher Layoffs

We followed this story extensively in the spring - click here to see all the stories on our blog concerning the cuts including some exclusive content from phone and email 'interviews'.

Interesting to note in this update article from the Herald that our trustee - Carol Bazinet, voted against the motion of layoffs and use of reserves stating that this choice was a matter for the trustees not the administration.

"In a report Tuesday to a meeting of Calgary Board of Education trustees, Johnson said the board will use nearly half of its $21 million in reserves this year, even as it sheds 277 full-time workers, including 192 teachers. The report was accepted, although trustees Pat Cochrane and Carol Bazinet voted against the motion." - Calgary Herald

What this means to Haultain has yet to be measured and would be a good question for our principal. You may have that opportunity at the next council meeting - September 30 in the library @ 6:30. See you there.

An email reply from Minister Hancock

(A reply from the Minister's office to an email I sent voicing my concerns regarding funding cuts)

Dear Mr. Newton:

Thank you for your recent e-mail about education funding for the Calgary Board of Education.

As you noted in your e-mail, education funding for the 2010/2011 school year has not been cut by government. In fact, since 2000/2001, funding to education has increased by $2.7 billion, or 73 per cent, while student enrolment has increased by three per cent for the same period.

A Lesson in Numbers

I had a conversation with Carol Bazinet on Wednesday morning concerning the public school budget for Calgary. As in my chat with Jenny Regal blogged here, we started out by both acknowledging the complexity, confusion, and mis-information surrounding this issue. Trying to boil it down in a few sentences is impossible if a complete understanding is desired. The media's rhetoric, sensationalism, and outright misinformation hasn't helped matters and getting the facts and figures right will definitely help us, as parents, decide the best course of action. Now that the budget has been unanimously accepted, I thought some basic facts might help in the understanding of the impact to public schools and what it might mean to us as parents...

School bell tolls for teachers

By Shawn Logan, Calgary Sun

Calgary public classrooms will have to make due with at least 192 fewer teachers when the school bell rings in the fall.

Trustees with the Calgary Board of Education signed off on a tough budget for the coming school year Tuesday night that will also see 79 support staff and 6.5 custodial positions axed, even as the board is forced to swallow a $10-million deficit.

While board members unanimously agreed to the balance sheet, they also took aim at the provincial government for not covering arbitrated raises for teachers or increasing the annual education grant, leaving no choice but to dip into the red and trim staff.

Read the full story here.

Public school budget confirms teacher cuts

From the CBC website

Trustees with the Calgary Board of Education have approved an operating budget with a $10 million deficit and job cuts.

The financial plan for 2010-11 confirms the loss of 192 full-time teaching and 85 support positions this fall.

After factoring in retirements and resignations, the jobs of 169 probationary teachers — who are in their first year of the profession — are in limbo. Board chair Pat Cochrane said final numbers won't be clear until closer to September.

The financial crunch comes after a freeze on provincial funding and a negotiated wage raise for teachers.

Read the full article here.

Bad Budgeting or Simply Not Enough Money?

Calgary Public Teachers respond...


Friday morning I had a long chat with Jenny Regal who is the president of Calgary Public Teachers Local 38 of the Alberta Teacher's Association. I found Ms. Regal to be forthcoming, generous with her time and clearly passionate about her representation. Confessing the issue of teacher layoffs and budget allocations is a confusing and contentious issue with many players, she tried to explain some basic facts and steer a course for action that makes sense to parents.

One thing to remember is how hard it is to get straight answers out of the players in this scenario. Alberta Education handed

Teacher layoffs the fault of poor budgeting, minister says

By BILL KAUFMANN, Calgary Sun

Alberta’s education minister has deflected blame for the Calgary public school board’s decision to eliminate nearly 200 teaching positions.

Though educators have cited insufficient provincial funding to pay salaries, Education Minister Dave Hancock Wednesday said there’s no need for the board to axe jobs.

“I ask the school boards not to cut back on their staff, there’s no reason for a school board to cut back on their staff,” said Hancock.

It’s up to school boards to properly weigh spending priorities, he said, and if they don’t they’ll reap the political consequences.

“They’ll have to face their electors this fall,” he said.

He said school boards with cash reserves should use those to retain staff but added he would work with districts, like the CBE, that have exhausted their surpluses.

Read the full article here.

No aid from Stelmach for cash-strapped Calgary school board

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.

Read the full story here.

CBE Job Cuts - thoughts...

Job cuts in CBE notes and thoughts:

- Alberta's education minister Dave Hancock addressed the ATA on May 26, 2010. You can read the transcript of his speech here. During the address Mr. Hancock skirted a fine line; assuring the teachers that they are respected and valuable professionals while concurrently suggesting they are an overpaid burden on the budget.

- An important note he made also points out that Alberta Education has and continues to encourage boards in the province to run a deficit and not to lay off teachers.

- He makes reference to the sustainability fund and the province's policies surrounding its use and encourages the boards to model their accounting practices around that. Obviously not all school boards have reserves in the billions of dollars so a deficit will be long term for them regardless. The CBE had 19 million dollars in 'savings' and say they are using it for this budget to help reduce the swelling numbers of layoffs.

- The bottom line here is that Alberta Education has actually given more money to the CBE than it did last year. The budget the CBE created calls for the job cuts (some of which will come through natural attrition - I can't find out how many).

- Maybe we need to focus on encouraging our Trustees to spend more in deficit and ensure a continued quality in the classroom now instead of creating a less than ideal environment in hopes of getting better funding next year.

- It is easy to get caught up in blaming the government for budget problems but the decisions for deficit spending, funding allocations, and ultimately teacher lay-offs is in the hands of our board - not Alberta Education.

These are just some personal thoughts on this very complicated matter. As parents we really only care about one thing - a good education and school environment for our kids. To most of us that means a reasonable class size with a professional and caring teacher. Don't mess with that and we'll all be happy.

You have been encouraged to reach out to your MLA, Alberta Education, and the Premiere. I've included links to all three here. Please use them to let your thoughts be known. I've added our Trustee as well - tell all of these people what you think and what you want, ask them questions, they are here to answer to you.

Heather Forsyth MLA - calgary.fishcreek@assembly.ab.ca
Honourable Dave Hancock - dave.hancock@gov.ab.ca
Premiere Ed Stelmach
Carol Bazinet (Trustee) - cabazinet@cbe.ab.ca

Teachers call on parents to start lobbying as Calgary school board widens job cuts

By Sarah McGinnis, Calgary Herald

Calgary teachers say parents must lobby the Stelmach government on behalf of their children after a funding freeze and mounting costs prompted the Calgary Board of Education on Tuesday to propose cutting 277 full-time jobs, including 192 teaching positions.

Calgary's public school board plans to use every penny of its $19-million savings to help cover its $1.045-billion operating budget for the 2010-11 school year.

Read the full story here.

Calgary schools to cut 192 teaching spots

From the CBC website

Calgary public schools are facing the loss of 192 full-time teaching and 85 support positions this fall.

The Calgary Board of Education confirmed those numbers on Tuesday in unveiling its proposed operating budget, which lays out a $10 million deficit.

The debt will arise even though the board is cleaning out its reserve fund of $19.1 million to help cover the $1 billion operating budget for 2010-11.

The budget will include the job cuts, reduction of some class sizes and a small increases in certain fees.

Read the full story here.