Kids prepare to jump on the bus on Wednesday afternoon at Southview Community School In Medicine Hat. Local school divisions are suggesting a variety of ways they will spend their portion of federal funding meant to help educators deal with COVID measures.--NEWS PHOTO COLLIN GALLANT
Federal money that’s flowing through to local school boards will be fanned out to cover an array of costs related to re-opening schools with pandemic precautions in place, administrators told the News on Wednesday.
Three school boards in southeast Alberta will share in $4.7 million in total following an announcement from Education Minister Adriana LaGrange on allocations and requirements for Alberta’s $263-million share of Ottawa’s $2-billion fund for schools.
Local boards will use their portion to add more teachers and janitorial staff, rework some spaces, technological upgrades needed for online learning and to cover expected higher substitute teaching costs.
Medicine Hat Catholic Board of Education will also use portion of its $926,000 grant to cut several “exceptionally” large classes in two, said superintendent Dwayne Zarichny.
“We’re exceptionally grateful,” said Zarichny. “This has been the plan all along, but to bring it to full force we would have had to really dipped into our jurisdiction’s reserves. This really helps us out with flexibility.”
The MHCBE will use the money to hire eight custodians and 3.2 FTE teaching positions.
Money will also be spent to create work spaces for occupational therapists who go to schools to work with pupils and other costs.
Medicine Hat School Division will receive just under $2.6 million, and regional Prairie Rose School Division will get $1.12 million.
Public school board administrators were evaluating the announcement on Wednesday.
Prairie Rose School Division Secretary Treasurer Ryan Boser told the News that his division, covering areas from Oyen to Bow Island and all around Medicine Hat, will use funds in areas that have already seen increased spending.
The division purchased Chromebooks for all students Grades 4-12 to work on in case of a wholly online scenario in the 2020-21 school year. Those are available for in-class and online learning this fall, and PSRD is also dedicating three teaching positions initially for online support for students who have elected to remain home and those who may have to quarantine at some point.
In late July the province was still undecided among three options for students, either in person, online, or a combination.
“It didn’t come to fruition, but we are prepared to go ahead,” said Boser. “If we have to operate in any other scenario, we’ll be ready.”
The rural school division has also purchased a deep-clean equipment that will rotate through all facilities and pre-purchased cleaning supplies and sanitizer.
The announcement and funding details were released at an 11 a.m. press conference with held by Alberta Education Minister Adriana LaGrange and provincial chief medical officer of health Deena Hinshaw.
There is no requirement to address class sizes, LaGrange told reporters, but local boards can use the funds on a variety of areas related to health protocols.
“School authorities said that they wanted as much flexibility as possible to use this funding in ways that are most important for their schools and communities,” she stated in a release. “I recognize the importance of this, and am pleased to set broad criteria for use of this funding.”
Funds can be spent on staffing, physically altering classrooms and other spaces, protective equipment, cleaning on school buses, support for special needs students and online teacher training.
The money is allocated on a per student basis, along with some money to account for student population changes.
A total of $8.5 million will be forwarded to independent school boards as well as religious and charter schools. That includes $102,200 for CAPE School in Medicine Hat.
The Southern Alberta Francophone Region, which operates Ecole Les Cypres in Medicine Hat among 14 others, will receive $1.3 million. About $12 million was separately dedicated province-wide to distance learning and home schooling groups that have seen a “large influx of enrolment,” according to the province’s release.
