AB Budget 2025 Must Reverse Severe Underfunding Crisis in K-12 Public Education

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - EDMONTON/CALGARY
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As we prepare for Alberta’s 2025 Budget to be tabled on February 27, we call on the provincial government to inject immediate and significant funds back into the public K-12 education system. It is imperative that Alberta makes a definitive rebound out of last place for per-capita education funding. In the past few months, several thousands of essential education workers across Alberta have undertaken labour action in resounding opposition to the cumulative cuts to education funding year after year.

“Supports for students must be restored in Budget 2025 to guarantee each and every Alberta child has access to high quality education. Boards must be funded adequately to repair existing ageing schools and build new public schools to meet population growth. Funding must increase to meet inflationary reality. All education staff are vital to the success of Alberta students. It's critical to keep schools functioning in order to keep students learning and the government can do this by paying all education staff a living wage.”- Medeana Moussa, Executive Director of Support Our Students AB

Support Our Students Alberta is urgently calling for these K-12 Education priorities in Budget 2025:

• Relieve overcrowded classrooms by funding all public school students: Rapidly build new public schools while simultaneously recruiting an additional 5000+ education workers needed to support our 800,000 and growing student population. Reinstate open class-size reporting to ensure that classes are being reduced back to recommended levels. It is projected that the education system requires an additional $1.4B above last year’s operational funding. As Edmonton and Calgary’s student populations are growing by 1 to 2 modular classes per day, we need a double-pronged plan to build more spaces that will also be fully staffed and filled with resources.
• Repair funding formula: The flawed weighted moving average funding model has penalized growing schools. Government needs to fund every student attending public school in real time.
• Support classroom complexities: Invest significant dollars to reinstate and augment wraparound funding supports for complex and additional language learners.
• Pay education workers living wages: Education working conditions are students’ learning conditions. Education workers should not be forced to live in poverty while providing essential support, care, and guidance for students. 
• Fix, modernize, and expand our schools: Repay school infrastructure deficit by returning funds to deferred maintenance costs. Repair and modernize existing facilities.
• Curb privatization by scaling back private school subsidies: Roll back public funding for private schools, who currently receive 70% of per student instructional funding, and redirect these public funds back to the public system where every student is accepted. Public school construction projects must be prioritized over subsidizing private and charter school expansions or builds.

“Students can no longer accept scraps from this provincial government. The status quo is no longer sustainable. We are facing a critical juncture in our province where our public education system has been eroded beyond recognition.” - Medeana Moussa, Executive Director 

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For media inquiries about this release, please contact:
Wing Li (she/her)
Communications Director
yegsosalberta{at}gmail.com
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