Dismissal Of Schools May Cause Losses For Lethbridge
Some significant funding cuts for local school districts when the province decided to temporarily cut funding for K-12 education reflect the cost of learning at home during COVID-19.
Friday (April. 3), the Holy Spirit Department says it will lay off 181 employees with a budget reduction of less than million.
“Meet the schedules and estimated cuts in funding that Alberta Education is targeting, but continue to adhere to collective agreements that govern employee relationships with most of our support staff,” said manager Ken Sampson. “We had to act quickly to get the employees back to work with a deadline of 30 days, namely December 31. ”
It Lethbridge School Division, although has not given an exact number of school staff who are given a temporary pink slip, only say this has led to $1.5 million to reduce their budget.
“We are looking at all aspects of our budget and will soon have the final numbers for the staff we can sustain,” said Cheryl Gilmore, superintendent of the Lethbridge School Division. He says that work will continue to ensure that job losses are minimal. “We are still looking for cost savings and efficiency across the system.”
According to the two departments, adjustments are made locally to maximize student learning when personal classes are canceled. Both the Holy Spirit and the Lethbridge School Division say these changes have also had a major impact on their reserve accounts.
Termination notices include education assistants, library staff, career practitioners, administrative support, FNMI relationships, and advanced education assistants, just a few.
The UCP government of Alberta says funding will be restored if normal teaching continues.