(rdnewsNOW file photo)

By Troy Gillard

Bill 5

Red Deer school officials say Bill 5 adds “new layer of bureaucracy”

Mar 6, 2020 | 8:29 AM

RED DEER, AB – Red Deer school district officials are weighing in on the province’s plan to have districts get ministerial approval before spending reserve funds.

The idea is part of Bill 5, the Fiscal Measures and Taxation Act, introduced on Tuesday. Finance Minister Travis Toews said the intent of the bill is to help ensure K-12 education dollars are going to the classroom.

Anne Marie Watson, Board Chair for Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools, says she finds it surprising to see a government focused on reducing red tape giving school districts more work to do.

“It kind of adds in a new layer of bureaucracy that I wasn’t expecting,” Watson said Wednesday. “They’ve really been pushing local autonomy and getting out of the way of school boards, so it does seem to go against that even if it is only for a two-year period.”

Nicole Buchanan, Board Chair for Red Deer Public Schools, also has concerns over the loss of local decision making authority.

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“This is another example of how local autonomy is at risk, putting restrictions on the resources entrusted to us,” she said. “Our priority has always been to maximize the dollars that are available in the classroom.”

Watson says Red Deer Catholic did use reserves to balance its 2019-20 budget but has started working on 2020-21 with the goal of not using them again because they are already low.

Red Deer Public, meantime, has used $3.5 million from reserves to balance its books for 2020-21 and Buchanan says they’re likely to do so again for 2021-22.

“We recognize the mandate of the government and are being diligent in how we spend our money,” Buchanan noted. “Having said that, it is important for our community to understand that between our increase in costs and new students coming into the system, we are making do with less and are going to make the best decisions we can with what we have, including the use of our reserves.”

“I’m hoping that those steps are to ensure the appropriate use of the funds. As long as we can still access the reserves it will be inconsequential for us,” said Kurt Sacher, Superintendent for Chinook’s Edge School Division, which has also had to pull from reserves to make ends meet. “As long as there is no significant delay in getting approval, we will be fine. We are going to need our reserves to navigate a few budget cycles, for sure.”

Buchanan, too, has her fingers crossed there’ll be no snags in using reserve funds.

“There is certainly concern once you have to ask for approval to spend your own money whether someone is going to tell you yes or no.”