Rural Alberta high schools alarmed as credit funding reduction hits bottom line

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Rural Alberta teens’ education will be disproportionately hurt by an incoming cap on funding for high school credits, say school trustees.

Options in trades, career classes and work experience may disappear in smaller centres as the credit funding cap cuts hundreds of thousands of dollars out of small school boards’ budgets, says Darcy Eddleston, chairman of the rural caucus of Alberta school boards.

“What is the incentive to keep these non-academic students in school?” said Eddleston, who’s also chair of the Buffalo Trail school board in Wainwright. “We’re scared we’re going to see an increase in our dropout rate.”

At issue is a provincial government formula that determines how much money schools receive for each student. About a third of Alberta high schools use an older system that funds schools based on how many credits a student takes each year. The education ministry now pays for students to take up to 60 credits a year. Next fall, the cap drops to 45 credits. A typical full-year class is worth five credits, and a half-year class is worth three. Students need 100 credits to graduate.

The average student takes around 37 credits each year, meaning the cap won’t affect funds for most students, Education Minister David Eggen’s press secretary, Lindsay Harvey, said in an email. The move is expected to save $9 million during the next school year. The money will be diverted to help fund a $50-million reduction in school fees.

If a student enrols in more than 45 credits next year, schools can’t say no — the ministry expects the school board to eat the extra cost.

A survey of 24 rural school boards found the lower credit cap will cost them $6.4 million next year, which puts a disproportionate burden on them, Eddleston said.

This year, more than a quarter of Buffalo Trail’s high school students took more than 45 credits, he said. With fewer options to offer during school hours at smaller rural schools, many students rake in credits in work experience programs on farms, and in dual-credit trades classes at Lakeland College.

These programs keep many kids engaged in school, give them a head start on a career and post-secondary training, and develop skills local employers are looking for.

Facing a $340,000 cut next year, Buffalo Trail’s programs are in jeopardy, Eddleston said. They’ll likely have to reduce staff, and may consider closing smaller high school programs in the future, he said, which can affect the viability of a small town.

“What it’s really doing is penalizing these students,” Eddleston said.

Switching to the newer “high school redesign” model of funding leaves the board no better off, he said.

Likewise, Whitecourt-based Northern Gateway Public Schools offers several hands-on options — at a financial loss — outside of regular school hours. They include oil and gas production operation, driver training and auto mechanics. The school board recoups the cost by enrolling students in a larger number of credits, says an April letter by board chairwoman Judy Muir.

Eighteen per cent of the division’s high school students are enrolled in more than 45 credits this year, superintendent Kevin Andrea said. The board anticipates a $350,000 hit from the credit cap.

“That is a significant loss of revenue. It goes a long way to support programming in those particular areas,” Andrea said.

Since the cap applies from September to August, summer school dual-credit offerings such as robotics, culinary arts and truck driver training are now also at risk, he said. Dual-credit programs give students both high school and post-secondary credits for completing a course.

Harvey said a four-year, $16.4-million investment in dual-credit courses starting next year could fund some of these options.

Edmonton schools’ bottom lines will also take a hit. Edmonton Catholic expects to lose $2.2 million next year as a result of the cap, and Edmonton Public could be down $1.5 million.

Peace River School Division in northwestern Alberta predicts a $152,000 hit, and is also worried about the viability of summer school programming.

Richard Starke, the MLA for Vermilion-Lloydminster, said the credit cap is the talk of the town at every graduation ceremony he’s attended this spring.

It’s “preposterous” to expect school boards to enrol students without provincial funds, he said.

The education minister is hearing trustees’ concerns and has met with one board to hear them out, Harvey said.

However, “No changes are being considered to the cap established as part of Budget 2017,” she said.

jfrench@postmedia.com

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