Calgary school board blames NDP for $35M budget hole in 2018

City public schools will be forced to cut services in 2018 due to a $35.5-million shortfall because provincial funding has failed to cover rising costs, say Calgary Board of Education trustees.

It's unclear so far what might be cut.

But it's no mystery who's responsible, in the eyes of the trustees.

Trina Hurdman, chair of the board, blames the expected shortfall on Rachel Notley's NDPgovernment.

"The NDP has not provided sufficient funding in order for us to maintain the same service levels from year to year," said Hurdman.

Hurdmanleads the biggest school board in Alberta, with a $1.4-billion budget, 14,000 employees and 121,000 students.

While enrolment growth is covered and teacher salaries have been frozen, Hurdman says the board still has to cover higher salaries as teachers climb into higher wage brackets based on their seniority.

The CBEmust also cover the cost to operate new schools. The board receives funding based on enrolment numbers, not the number of schools it operates.

Trustee Althea Adams says if the board is forced to make cuts, her priority would be to protect funding for students and classroom resources.She'd like to look at downtown headquarters and administration first.

"That's one of the areas we need to start, look at our downtown expenses and see how can we better manage those and how can we possibly start shaving some dollars there," said Adams, one of five new trustees elected to the Calgary Board of Education in October.

The board received $9,083 per student this school year, however that included two separate one-time grants, which amounted to an extra $257 per student.

The CBE welcomed 2,544 new students last fall, pushing enrolment to 121,691.

"Yes, funding for growth is appreciated, but that is not actually protecting education," said Hurdman.

Five new trustees

The make up of the board changed dramatically when five new trustees were elected, including three members of the Students Count slate.

Pamela King, a long-time trustee in Wards 5 & 10, was defeated by Marilyn Dennis.

Hurdman and Julie Hrdlicka were the only incumbents re-elected.

Adams, Lisa Davisand Mike Bradshaw were elected under the Students Count banner. The group highlighted five priorities for the board, including finding efficiencies within the $1.4-billion budget and directing that money towardclassroom resources.The CBE employs 14,000 people and is home to 121,691 students.

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New board has something for everyone

Bradshaw, 40, says the new board has a good mix of people and perspectives.

"There's pretty much something on our board for everyone," he said.

"If you are very left wing, we got that. If you're very right wing, we got that. I think people are well represented and I think there's a willingness to make sure voices are being heard," said Bradshaw.

Davis, who has campaigned for the province's former Progressive Conservative party, expects a robust debate among trustees who don't necessarily share her views or ideology.

"I think we agree on some things and probably not on others. I do think there is a genuine goodwill amongst everybody to work together in the best interests of students," said Davis.

She says it's up to administration to recommend various scenarios to trim the projected $35-million deficit.

"My perspective is how do we protect the school level funding as much as we possibly can. What that means for the rest of the operation is going to be up to administration to come back to us to tell us what it's going to look like," she said.

Hurdman says many teachers face increasing challenges as more students present with a range of diverse and complex needs.

"There's a lot more mental health issues with our students, a lot more immigrant families whose language needs are a lot higher than immigrants in the past. We have a lot more kids with learning disabilities or even medical fragility," said Hurdman.

Operational reviewexpected soon

The province ordered a review of the CBE's spending practices following the board's initial projected budget deficit of $38.6 million for the current school year.

A preliminary report in September called for further review and a comparison of the operations of Alberta's three other metro school boards.

Education Minister David Eggen has raised doubts about the CBE's apparent dire financial situation in the past.A spokesperson for the minister said it's too early to speculate on funding levels for the next school year.

"That said, it should be noted that our interim operational review found CBE has reported surpluses in each of the last three years after initially projecting deficits," wrote Lindsay Harvey in an email to CBC News.

Bryan Labby is an enterprise reporter with CBC Calgary. If you have a good story idea or tip, you can reach him at bryan.labby@cbc.ca or on Twitter at @CBCBryan.