The chair of Alberta’s fastest-growing school board says the latest budget unveiled by the province offers an “unprecedented” amount of financial support to charter schools.
Alberta allocated $700 million over three years to send to school divisions, representing an increase of around 1.7 per cent. At least $70 million will pay for expanding and operating charter schools.
“Unfortunately, we are seeing an unprecedented investment in charter schools in this province and that creates a slow erosion, in my mind, for funding for public education,” Estabrooks said.
“Public schools, we are here to serve everyone. Charters and privates are not. And so the bottom line for us is that public dollars belong in public education.”
“The slight thaw we are seeing in the education budget,” Estabrooks added, “that also will buoy charters and privates as well.”
Lynne Paradis, president of the Alberta Public Charter School Association, said charter schools add value to the spectrum of education offerings found within the problem.
She disagreed with Estabrooks’ comments that charter schools do not cater to all.
“That’s just misinformed,” Paradis said. “Anyone can sign up for a charter school.”
In Alberta, charter schools cannot charge tuition and are mandated to be inclusive.
“Our issue is not on who we want to accept, it’s that we just don’t have room,” she added. “If we are allowed to grow, we will have more room.”
There are 15 charter schools in the province and Premier Jason Kenney says the waitlist is around 15,000 students long.
“I don’t think there is any advantage with having just one system of schools,” Paradis said. “I think you create some really positive competition when there is more than one system.”
For her, that competition is for students and public dollars.
TIME FOR ‘EQUAL FOOTING’
At an unrelated press conference on Friday, the premier said it was time to give Alberta charter schools “equal footing.”
“Albertans believe and benefit from school choice,” Kenney said. “We believe parents, not politicians, know what’s in the best interest of their kids and we believe in choice and diversity in education. Charter schools are a fantastic example of that.”
“We have parents and families who are deeply involved in their kids’ education who set up these schools with specialized programming,” he added.
In his view, charter schools have not been given the right tools to succeed like other public and separate school boards.
Kenney said it is time they also receive capital investments and maintenance funds for infrastructure, just like other school boards receive so that there isn’t a “cookie-cutter approach” to public education.
“Public charter schools are part of the public system,” Kenney said. “They are not privately funded and there is more demand than there is supply.
“Charter schools are part of our diverse offering of educational programs,” he added. “They’ve done extremely well in Alberta in terms of their educational outcomes. They’re very popular with parents.”
STRATEGIC SUPPORT?
One political scientist told CTV News Edmonton that the province’s decision to increase charter school funding could have more to do with the United Conservative Party’s search for political support.
“Among them will be many rural Albertans and the charter or home school option in many cases will really resonate in those communities,” said Lori Williams, Mount Royal University political scientist.
“I think broadly speaking there is an openness to a choice in terms of schooling, but not at the expense of public funding of education,” Williams added.
“I don’t think any Albertan is interested in seeing a system in where people who are privileged or wealthy or happen to be geographically advantaged have access to choices in schools and quality in education that undermines the access to quality education for all Albertans.”
With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Chelan Skulski and Touria Izri
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was higher in late-morning trading, helped by strength in energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets also moved up.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 34.91 points at 23,736.98.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 178.05 points at 41,800.13. The S&P 500 index was up 28.38 points at 5,661.47, while the Nasdaq composite was up 133.17 points at 17,725.30.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.56 cents US compared with 73.57 cents US on Monday.
The November crude oil contract was up 68 cents at US$69.70 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up three cents at US$2.40 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$7.80 at US$2,601.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.28 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets climbed to their best week of the year.
“It’s been almost a complete opposite or retracement of what we saw last week,” said Philip Petursson, chief investment strategist at IG Wealth Management.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
While last week saw a “healthy” pullback on weaker economic data, this week investors appeared to be buying the dip and hoping the central bank “comes to the rescue,” said Petursson.
Next week, the U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut its key interest rate for the first time in several years after it significantly hiked it to fight inflation.
But the magnitude of that first cut has been the subject of debate, and the market appears split on whether the cut will be a quarter of a percentage point or a larger half-point reduction.
Petursson thinks it’s clear the smaller cut is coming. Economic data recently hasn’t been great, but it hasn’t been that bad either, he said — and inflation may have come down significantly, but it’s not defeated just yet.
“I think they’re going to be very steady,” he said, with one small cut at each of their three decisions scheduled for the rest of 2024, and more into 2025.
“I don’t think there’s a sense of urgency on the part of the Fed that they have to do something immediately.
A larger cut could also send the wrong message to the markets, added Petursson: that the Fed made a mistake in waiting this long to cut, or that it’s seeing concerning signs in the economy.
It would also be “counter to what they’ve signaled,” he said.
More important than the cut — other than the new tone it sets — will be what Fed chair Jerome Powell has to say, according to Petursson.
“That’s going to be more important than the size of the cut itself,” he said.
In Canada, where the central bank has already cut three times, Petursson expects two more before the year is through.
“Here, the labour situation is worse than what we see in the United States,” he said.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
— With files from The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was down more than 200 points in late-morning trading, weighed down by losses in the technology, base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets also fell.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 239.24 points at 22,749.04.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 312.36 points at 40,443.39. The S&P 500 index was down 80.94 points at 5,422.47, while the Nasdaq composite was down 380.17 points at 16,747.49.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.80 cents US compared with 74.00 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down US$1.07 at US$68.08 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.26 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$2.10 at US$2,541.00 an ounce and the December copper contract was down four cents at US$4.10 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
