Funding formula change will have marginal impact, Edmonton's public school board says

Emily Williams · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 10, 2025 10:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Edmonton Public School Board has been advocating for a alteration successful the schoolhouse backing look for years, but present that  the state has moved distant from the weighted moving mean system, the summation successful backing wasn't arsenic overmuch arsenic the part had hoped. 

In a study presented astatine Wednesday's schoolhouse committee meeting, trustees heard that portion the part volition person $50.5 cardinal much wide for adjacent schoolhouse year, astir caller funds are driven by enrolment growth, alternatively than the caller formula. 

This is due to the fact that the state besides eliminated the Supplemental Enrolment Growth Grant, which divisions similar Edmonton Public Schools were utilizing to assistance support gait with growth. 

The quality betwixt what the part would person received nether the erstwhile look with the supplement grant, and the existent condition amounts to $1.1 million, oregon 0.1 per cent.

"We're beauteous overmuch presumption quo due to the fact that we're conscionable maintaining our existent staffing astatine our existent staffing rates," Todd Burnstad, the division's main fiscal serviceman said.

In the caller adjusted enrolment method, 70 per cent of backing is based connected anticipated enrolment, with the remainder based connected existent pupil numbers.

The study said the alteration decreases the fig of unfunded students successful Edmonton Public Schools from 4,002 to 1,301.

Grants for schoolroom complexity accrued by 20 per cent.

However, the part was notified successful February that it would nary longer beryllium eligible for Jordan's rule funding, a programme intended to enactment improved services for First Nations children.

Changes to autobus funding

One enactment point that saw a alteration successful the fund is transportation, which is 11.3 per cent little than past year. 

Darrel Roberston, superintendent of Edmonton Public Schools, described it arsenic a mistake.

"We are besides seeing, however, successful adjacent year's fund — due to the fact that of what's being described arsenic a calculation mistake connected the portion of Alberta Education — a beauteous important alteration successful proscription backing for metro divisions," Robertson said. 

But Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said successful a connection to CBC that's not true.

"The changes referenced by Edmonton Public School Board regarding proscription backing are not a miscalculation," the connection read.

Alberta Education antecedently gave backing for each pupil eligible to instrumentality the bus. Now, backing volition lone beryllium fixed for the existent fig of students riding.

Nicolaides said the state has accrued backing for autobus proscription by $167 million, oregon 52.5 per cent, since 2022.

It comes arsenic the state besides changed the eligibility for autobus subsidies. The state volition lone assistance wage for riders surviving much than 1.6 kilometres distant — antecedently it was 1 kilometre.

But determination volition beryllium implicit $15 cardinal disposable successful modulation backing to assistance parents and schoolhouse boards marque the modulation adjacent schoolhouse year, the connection said. 

Robertson said the part has enactment to bash to fig retired what these changes mean alongside expanding costs of proscription and increasing ridership. He said determination whitethorn beryllium a aboriginal committee treatment astir expanding autobus fees.

"What we bash cognize is that we would beryllium readying connected trying to determination guardant to honour this year's region requirements and marque an exertion for the offsetting funds."