The Minister of Education, Adriana LaGrange announced on Sept. 2, that Alberta schools will receive approximately $262 million from the federal government to support COVID-19 related costs.
“The majority of this funding, $250 million will be distributed to school authorities based on a per-student model,” LaGrange said.
Funds can be used for COVID-19 related costs such as staffing, adapting learning spaces, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), cleaning and safety considerations for schools and buses, supports for special needs students, and online learning and teacher training.
The remaining $12 million in funding will be dedicated to supporting school authorities who are seeing a large influx in enrollment due to increased demand for online and distanced learning programs.
“I believe this approach is the fairest, and most equitable way to disperse the funding,” LaGrange said.
LaGrange has directed her department to ensure the funding immediately flows to school authorities once it’s received from the federal government.
The President of the Alberta Teachers Association (ATA), Jason Schilling is encouraging school divisions to ensure the $250 million in federal funding will make it to classrooms and will be prioritized for urgent staffing needs.
“Thank you to the federal government for finding a way to get desperately needed funding into Alberta schools and thank you to Minister LaGrange and the provincial government for getting this money to schools in a way that allows them to use it to address their most significant needs,” Schilling said.
The ATA has been advocating for seven key priorities to improve classroom safety and expects that the funding will be used to address those priorities.
The seven key priorities include forming a multisector, and multi-stakeholder group to advise on common approaches on re-entry plans and operating standards, ensuring scenario implementation responds to community spread while providing clear information on how schools will transition between scenarios if necessary, ensuring the reduction of viral spread by increasing outdoor air exchange and improving ventilation and filtering, creating conditions for social distancing, providing funding for increased daytime caretaking staff, masks, cleaning supplies, and equipment, taking steps to protect students and staff at a high risk, and creating provincial and local COVID-19 response teams and plans.
“Funding should be focused on significant staffing needs. More teachers are needed to reduce class sizes, substitute teachers need to be available and need to be supported and protected, custodians are needed to ensure that ongoing sanitization occurs throughout the school day and more EAs are needed to help students with learning needs and hygiene. Teachers want schools to stay open, so we have to make sure the return to school is done as safely as possible,” Schilling said.
Schilling is now urging school boards to meet with teacher representatives and principals to determine how the funds should best be allocated at the local level while continuing to urge LaGrange to bring together a multisector, multi-stakeholder advisory committee that would include public health officials for an ongoing conversation regarding the return to school and emergent issues.
