The NDP government says it will continue to support education in the province by adding hundreds of teaching and support positions through the use of an education fund.
The $75M Classroom Improvement Fund that was announced in June is expected to create more than 225 teaching jobs and 175 support positions in the province.
Premier Notley said the money from the fund is being spent directly in Alberta’s classrooms to improve learning for students.
School boards and teachers will be able to spend the funds on programs to support literacy and numeracy and inclusive education and for equipment to assist students.
“We asked teachers and school board administrators to sit down together to decide how their portion of the funding could do the most good for students in their classrooms,” Notley said. “We also gave them the flexibility to decide on how to allocate their funds, so they could put resources where they were most needed in their schools. We gave them that flexibility because unique communities and unique classrooms with unique kids have unique needs.”
David Stevenson, chief superintendent of schools with the Calgary Board of Education, is happy to hear the government's pledge not to lay off any teachers.
“We are pleased with the collaborative approach taken to allocate this additional funding, and grateful for the flexibility that allows schools to acquire the right resources to meet the unique needs of their students. The resources that the Classroom Improvement Fund will provide, including additional teachers and support staff, will go a long way to support our students and their learning."
School boards and teachers can submit their proposals for the fund up to December 15, 2017 and all the money in the CIF must be allocated by the end of the 2017-18 school year.
A full breakdown of the funding for each school board is available here.
