Photo: Shaun Penner

By Shaun Penner

Public School Division

Changes to some GPPSD programs coming as 2020-21 budget is finalized

May 28, 2020 | 1:53 PM

Some programs within the Grande Prairie Public School Division will see changes for the 2020-21 school year, as the division works around a reduced level of funding from previous years, as well as a need to balance the budget going forward.

As the Board of Trustees approved the budget for the next school year earlier this week, programs that will be seeing changes include the elimination of the Early Literacy Intervention program, a reduction in the number of Program Unit Funded pre-kindergarten spaces and the elimination of band and orchestra instruction for grades five and six, among others.

These changes are reflective of a budget that is facing a new funding framework from Alberta Education, which will be an increase in funding from this current school year, but still be less than previous years.

With the new framework in place, Superintendent Sandy McDonald says the division also needs to address its biggest hurdle, which has been the rapid growth within the division in the last 20 years.

He says since 1997, the number of schools, as well as student and staffing levels within the division have all doubled. This has put added pressure on the division’s reserve funds, leaving them with little wiggle room.

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“Under the previous funding model, not all of the expenses associated with opening a new school would be immediately covered,” said McDonald. “The government would provide funds to build the school, but the staffing, the resources, would be the responsibility of the school division.”

With that, McDonald says the division had allocated much of its reserve funds to staffing those new schools, with the anticipation that enrollment growth would gradually help replenish those reserves. Growth never reached anticipated levels, which has left the division with little reserve funds as it navigates its way through the new framework.

However, McDonald says with the new framework in place and the decisions they have made to address its budget, he and administration feel they now have a good sense of direction as they look ahead to the future.

“We believe that we’re in a pretty good position right now to be able to provide that stability with funding, moving forward.”

Those decisions come at a cost of certain programs, which McDonald were not easy choices to make, but it was important to the division to maintain staffing levels for classroom teachers and and classroom resources.

“The goal is always: maintain, to the greatest extent we can, the supports that are going to our classrooms,” said McDonald. “That core instruction. That’s always front and centre when we make our decisions.”

In keeping staffing levels maintained at the classroom level, programs like the Early Literacy Intervention program for grade one students will no longer be directly funded by the division. Teachers within that program have been reassigned to classroom positions and the division says it will be looking to develop a new strategy for the program for grades K-3 throughout the next school year.

“It’s unfortunate that we are no longer able to fund those Early Literacy Intervention teachers, but it’s an opportunity as well,” said McDonald. “We need to find a better way to support the early literacy development of all students in kindergarten to grade three.”

Due to provincial qualification changes, Program Unit Funded (PUF) pre-kindergarten spaces have been reduced. The division says it will now be operating out of two schools instead of four, due to the reduction in student numbers.

As well, band and orchestra education will not be an option for students until they hit grade seven, as division support for that option for grades five and six has been eliminated. McDonald says this will bring the division in line with other school divisions, as Alberta Education does not fund that specialized teaching until students reach grade seven.

“We really value that music instruction, and this was a hard decision to make. But the optional music in elementary, where we don’t really get any extra funding for it, but we were providing extra teaching staff for it, was something that we can’t sustain anymore with our budget.”

Other changes include the elimination of the gifted program, as well as adjustments to the services provided by Peace Collaborative Services within the division.

McDonald adds that all of these changes come as the division tries to navigate its way through the rampant uncertainty surrounding education within the COVID-19 pandemic. He feels though the division is in a good position to handle all changes that come their way.

“We’re going to work with the government, we’re going to work with our community and work with our schools,” said McDonald. “Things will be different, but I firmly believe things are going to be okay.”