Between them, Medicine Hat’s three local school divisions are on the hook for approximately $875,000 as a result of an arbitrator’s decision to uphold a a 5.99 per cent pay increase for the province’s teachers.
It’s worrisome news for local school boards, each of which must now dip into their reserves to cover their ever-growing budget shortfalls.
“It will put us in a bigger deficit position obviously, but we’ll deal with it this year,” says Gitta Hashizume, board chair of Medicine Hat’s School District No. 76. The district will need to come up with $400,000 it hasn’t budgeted for to cover the salary hikes. “It’s the going forward that is a concern — if the money isn’t brought forward next year, then we’ve got a big problem.”
The issue arose as the result of a dispute between the provincial government and the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA). Teachers’ salary increases are calculated based on the Alberta Average Weekly Earnings Index, and Statistics Canada originally calculated that amount at 4.85 per cent for 2008-09. However, it later revised the method it used to come up with the figure, coming out with the new number of 5.99 per cent — a number the provincial government said it couldn’t afford to pay. The dispute went to arbitration, and a ruling siding with the teachers was announced on Wednesday.
Education Minister Dave Hancock has said the province does not have the money to cover the discrepancy right away, but the salary increases are retroactive to Sept. 1 — meaning school divisions have to come up with additional money now.
“We’re still hoping that the government is going to live up to their commitment,” says Stan Aberle, board chair of Medicine Hat’s Catholic Separate Regional Division. For that division, the salary increases amount to $154,000. “They gave us a commitment that they would give us a five-year deal of labour peace, where they would pay for the teachers’ salaries. So I’m really hoping they’re going to hold true to that.”
Each of the three local school boards were hit hard earlier this year by grant reductions and clawbacks from the province, and each registered an operating deficit for ‘09-10 that they covered with reserve funding. They are also waiting on a provincial budget that many expect may contain deep cuts to education.
“It’s definitely going to be a challenge for Prairie Rose,” says superintendent Doug Nicholls. “Our task is going to be to minimize the effect on students.”
The Prairie Rose School Division will be footing a $321,000 bill as a result of the salary arbitration, and even before that ruling came down, the division cut two positions from its central office in an attempt to deal with the new financial reality.
Like the Catholic and public school districts, Prairie Rose says it can fund the salary increase this year from its reserves — but that money simply won’t be there next year.
That raises the spectre of teacher cuts.
“Clearly, with the arbitration ruling and the anticipated very tight dollars coming from Alberta Education when the budget announcements are made, we will have to review all aspects of our operations — and that will include positions,” Nicholls says.
“(Teacher cuts) are a concern, but at this point we’re not contemplating that,” Hashizume says. “It’s just really going to depend what happens in terms of the funding. We’ll get through this year, and then start looking at where we’ll have to make cuts if there’s nothing coming forward.”
The provincial budget will be released Tuesday, Feb. 9.