Premier Smith’s goal is to help fund the construction of private schools in Alberta Achi-News

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says her government’s $8.6-billion plan to fast-track new school construction will include a pilot project to incentivize private ones.

Smith said the ultimate goal is to create thousands of new places for an increasing number of new students at a lower cost to taxpayers.

“We want to put all of the different school options on the same level playing field,” Smith told a news conference in Calgary Wednesday.

Smith did not offer details on the amount of incentive for private school construction costs, but said she wanted to see what independent schools could offer.

“We are putting it out as a pilot to see if there is any interest in partnering on the same basis that we will build the other schools with the different (public) school boards,” he said.

Smith made the announcement a day after she announced the multibillion-dollar school building to address growing numbers of new students.

By quadrupling the existing school construction budget to $8.6 billion, the province aims to offer up to 30 new schools each year, adding 50,000 new student places within three years.

The government also wants to build or expand five charter school buildings a year, starting in next year’s budget, adding 12,500 places within four years.

Currently, not-for-profit independent schools can get some grants worth about 70 percent of what students in public schools receive per student from the state.

However, those grants do not cover major construction costs.

John Jagersma, executive director of the Association of Independent Schools and Colleges of Alberta, said he is interested in having conversations with the government about incentives.

He said the province has never funded major capital costs for their facilities before, and he said he doesn’t believe the association has ever asked for full capital funding.

He said community or religious groups traditionally pay those costs, but can help take the pressure off the public or separate systems.

“We think we can do our part,” Jagersma said.

Dennis MacNeil, head of the Alberta Public School Boards Association, said they welcome the new funding, but said money to build private schools would set a precedent that could ultimately harm the public system.

“We believe that the first school in any community should be a public school, because only public schools accept all the children that come through their doors and provide programs for them,” he said.

Jason Schilling, president of the Alberta Teachers’ Association, said if public dollars are going to be spent on building private schools, then students in the public system should be able to have equal access to those schools.

“No other province spends as much money on private schools as Alberta does, and it’s at the expense of public schools, where over 90 percent of students go to school,” he said.

Schilling also said the province needs about 5,000 teachers now, but the government’s announcement did not offer a plan to train and hire thousands more over the next few years.

Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi on Tuesday hailed the $8.6 billion as a “generational investment” in education, but said private schools have different mandates and the result could mean schools aren’t being built where they’re needed most.

“Using that money to build public schools is more efficient, it’s smarter, it’s faster, and it will serve students better,” Nenshi said.

Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides’ office declined to answer specific questions about the pilot project on Wednesday, saying it was still under development.

“Options and considerations for making capital more affordable for independent schools are being explored,” said a spokesperson. “There will be more information about this program in the near future.”

& copy 2024 The Canadian Press