Over the past several months, I’ve documented how self-serving political considerations prior to the 2008 provincial election guided the placement of 32 new schools across Alberta landing many schools in places with significantly less need, while high growth communities such as Airdrie, Chestermere and Beaumont were ignored.
Last week, yet another example demonstrating the mismanagement of our education system by the PC government came to light.
We learned that the Calgary Board of Education is being essentially forced into cutting roughly 200 teaching positions from its ranks.
The reason why is simple – in order to buy labour peace with the teachers prior to the last provincial election, then Minister Ron Liepert signed off on a contract with teachers that entitled them to annual salary increases in line with what is known as the ‘Average Weekly Earnings Index’ (AWEI).
As anyone who understands how the AWEI works knows, the number it produces on an annual basis almost always significantly outstrips annual increases in the cost of living (aka. inflation). One of several reasons for this is due to the fact that the AWEI takes into account not just the regular salaries of Alberta’s workers, but also all overtime worked. It also allows for unintended increases in the index during a recession as lower wage jobs are the first cut from payrolls, thereby increasing the overall average workforce wage.
The bottom line is this – Alberta teachers under the current five-year agreement are entitled to a six per cent raise this year despite Alberta’s struggling economy, low inflation rate and $7.6 billion provincial deficit.
Now realizing they can’t afford to pay the teachers according to the AWEI, the PC government did not fund the school boards what they require to finance the six per cent increase. Because the school boards are still bound to pay the six per cent raise, but have not been given the funds necessary to do so, they will be forced to cut 200 teaching positions to make up the gap. The result will see increased classroom sizes and likely lower educational outcomes. I want to be clear about who is to blame for this. I do not for one minute blame teachers or their labour representatives for this situation. The PCs gave them an offer they couldn’t turn down so they took it – who wouldn’t have done so?
The Stelmach government, and no one else, is to blame for this situation. Just as politics guided their choice of new school sites; on behalf of Alberta taxpayers, they entered into an impossibly irresponsible wage agreement with teachers so they could avoid a teachers strike for two elections. I still remember sitting in caucus as a minister explained how clever they had been for doing so…hmmmm…maybe it wasn’t so clever after all. Parents, students, and teachers sure don’t think so.