Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says her government’s $8.6 billion plan to accelerate the construction of new schools will include a pilot project to incentivize private schools.
Smith said the ultimate goal is to create thousands of new spaces for a growing number of new students at a reduced cost to taxpayers.
“We want to put all the different school options on a level playing field,” Smith said at a news conference in Calgary on Wednesday.
Smith did not offer details on how much private school construction costs could be incentivized, but said he wants to see what independent schools might propose.
“We’re putting this forward as a test to see if there’s any interest in partnering on the same basis that we’ll be building the other schools with the different (public) school boards,” he said.
Smith made the announcement a day after announcing the construction of a multimillion-dollar school to address the growing number of new students.
By quadrupling the current school construction budget to $8.6 billion, the province aims to offer 30 new schools each year, adding 50,000 new student spaces over three years.
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The administration also wants to build or expand five charter school buildings a year, starting in next year’s budget, adding 12,500 spaces over four years.
Currently, independent nonprofit schools can get some grants worth about 70 percent of what public school students receive per pupil from the province.
However, these subsidies do not cover the large construction costs.
John Jagersma, executive director of the Alberta Association of Independent Schools and Colleges, said he is interested in having conversations with the government about incentives.
He said the province has never before directly funded major capital costs for its facilities and said he doesn’t believe the association has ever applied for full capital financing.
He said community or religious groups traditionally cover those costs, but can help relieve pressure on public or separate systems.
“We believe we can do our part,” Jagersma said.
Dennis MacNeil, director of the Alberta Public School Boards Association, said the new funding was welcomed, but said money for private school construction would set a precedent that could ultimately hurt the public system.
“We believe that the first school in any community should be a public school, because only public schools accept all the children who come through their doors and provide them with programs,” she said.
Jason Schilling, president of the Alberta Teachers Association, said if public dollars are going to be spent on building private schools, then public school students should be able to access those schools equitably.
“No other province spends as much money on private schools as Alberta, and it does so at the expense of public schools, which serve more than 90 per cent of students,” he said.
Schilling also said the province needs about 5,000 teachers now, but the government announcement did not offer a plan to train and hire thousands more in the coming years.
Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi on Tuesday hailed the $8.6 billion as a “generational investment” in education, but said private schools have different mandates and the result could be that schools aren’t built where they’re most needed.
“Using that money to build public schools is more efficient, smarter, faster and will better serve students,” Nenshi said.
The office of Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides on Wednesday declined to answer specific questions about the pilot project, saying it is still under development.
“Options and considerations are being explored to make capital more affordable for independent schools,” a spokesperson said. “More information on this program will be forthcoming.”
© 2024 The Canadian Press
