Lost funding means fewer MHPSD teachers

By Samantha Johnson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on March 23, 2023.

The Medicine Hat Public School Division had a short, in-person meeting Wednesday with its temporary and probationary contract teachers to inform them that fewer teachers will be employed in the 2023-24 school year, and not all of them would be able to secure a position within the division.

“We thought it was necessary to meet face to face with our staff so we could explain the challenges and answer their questions,” stated superintendent Mark Davidson. “We did this now because there is still a considerable amount of work to be done to finalize the budget for 2023-2024. We wanted staff to have as much time as possible to explore other options, if there isn’t a position available to them in the next school year.”

The provincial government introduced a new funding framework for education in 2019-20. Bridge funding was introduced for one year in 2020-21 to help school divisions adjust to the new funding model. A year later, during the pandemic, ‘hold harmless’ funding was implemented to offset any loss of resources during COVID. That funding ends in August.

Hold harmless funding allowed MHPSD to maintain staffing levels that exceeded enrolment throughout the pandemic and current school year. The division is also experiencing declining enrolment due to an aging demographic in Medicine Hat. Over the course of the past five years, MHPSD has seen a decrease of 400 students throughout the division, a trend expected to continue for the next decade.

“With the hold harmless funding coming to an end as well as the decrease in instructional dollars, we will need to adjust 2023-2024 staffing to align with current enrolment. While we appreciate the resources that have been provided in the last five years, the new funding framework poses some challenges that our leadership team is currently working to address,” said Davidson.

The division is expecting modest increases in average class sizes for the 2023-24 school year.

Davidson continued, “We are working to protect classrooms by focusing on supports to address the complexities we face today. We are being very thoughtful in making these decisions, evaluating potential cost savings in all aspects of our work.”

Davidson says the division will be presenting a balanced budget to the board of trustees at a public meeting in May.