Editors note: A previous version of this headline inaccurately described the funding reductions. The school division will see a $1.45 million drop in revenue from all sources, including federal and provincial funding.
ATHABASCA—Athabasca and area’s school division, Aspen View Public Schools (AVPS), is facing an almost $1.45 million reduction in revenue for the 2024-25 school year, largely due to declining student numbers in schools and cuts to funding and grant streams from the provincial government.
Inflation, reduced government funding, and rising service costs are issues affecting individuals and industries across Alberta, and school boards are no exception.
“It’s a difficult time,” Candy Nikipelo, board chair for the division said. “We don’t foresee relief in this when we project what our enrolment is going to be in the next few years.”
During a May 23 meeting at Athabasca University, the Board of Trustees voted to approve the budget for the upcoming year, with an expected revenue of $43.7 million. The budget also comes with an anticipated shortfall of $499,500, up more than $150,000 from 2023-24.
“Our decision to cover the budgeted deficit by redirecting almost $500,000 from our operating reserves will lessen the impact of reduced funding and ensure that quality learning environments remain throughout our division,” said Nikipelo.
Much of the loss of revenue stems from declining enrolment in schools across the division. In 2024-25, AVPS enrolment is projected to drop to 2,596, or 29 students less than the current year.
The drop in student numbers accounts for a loss of approximately $1.15 million. AVPS will lose out on more than $800,000 through Rural Small School grants and First Nation, Metis and Inuit funding from the provincial government as a result, and almost $350,000 in federal dollars received in 2023-24.
Other streams of provincial revenue, such as stabilization funding meant to combat the financial impacts of dropping enrolment, have also been reduced. Grants to assist with socio-economic factors have been cut by more than $232,000, or 22 per cent, from the current year.
“My greatest concern is things like stabilization funding, where 25 per cent or more is being eliminated year over year,” superintendent Constantine Kastrinos told trustees.
In 2023-24, AVPS received almost $775,000 in stabilization funding, and in 2024-25, that number has been reduced to $577,000, a 34 per cent cut.
Along with declining enrolment and cuts to provincial funding, AVPS said inflation-driven increases to spending on salary adjustments and staff benefits, as well as growing costs for operational necessities such as repairs, maintenance, supplies, and utilities are also factors affecting the bottom line.
Operational impacts
To deal with the loss of revenue and growing deficit, the 2024-25 budget comes with a spending reduction of nearly $1.3 million, around three per cent less than 2023-24 expenses.
A significant portion — $1.27 million — of the spending cuts will be made up through staff reductions. A communications officer for the division said several staff positions will be eliminated for the upcoming year.
Vacant posts due to resignations and retirements not expected to be filled will be cut, a number of temporary contracts will not be renewed, and several support staff positions are slated to be removed when the current school year is completed.
Jason Schilling, president of the Alberta Teachers Association (ATA), is calling on the provincial government to do more for teaching staff and students in Albertan schools.
“There is no excuse in our growing, wealthy province to have funding cuts for public education,” said Schilling in a May 28 press release.
“We are now 3,000 teaching positions behind where service levels were just five years ago,” he added. “As a result of underfunding, class sizes have grown, programs have been cut and supports for students continue to erode.”
He said amidst talk of upcoming staff layoffs, he is asking for school boards affected by funding cuts to stop any plans to let teachers and support positions go, and is calling on the government of Alberta to announce more funding for the additional 3,000 staff promised over three years in Budget 2024.
AVPS is one of thirteen Alberta school boards to receive cuts to funding for the upcoming year. According to data housed in a table on the ATA’s website, AVPS will see the third highest revenue reduction in the province, with a 1.7 per cent cut to provincial dollars received.
Northland School Division’s — AVPS’s neighbours to the north — losses equate to a 2.3 per cent reduction, and coming in at a 2.2 per cent cut is the Living Waters Catholic Separate School Division, which has schools in Slave Lake, Edson, and Whitecourt.
After passing the 2024-25 budget, AVPS trustees also voted to advocate the provincial government on issues impacting their bottom line, including more predictable and reliable streams of revenue, and grants to mitigate the impacts of rising costs across the board.
“The Alberta Education Funding Manual doesn’t fund inflation,” said Amber Oko, AVPS secretary-treasurer. “That’s not our reality.”
