As teachers and students return to classrooms, a lack of funding persists.
The Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) is expanding its Stop the Excuses campaign to focus on Alberta’s government spending the least on public education per student in Canada. The provincewide ads feature Albertans from all backgrounds expressing their surprise at how the richest province in Canada spends the least per student. This chronic underfunding has left our schools and students in dire need, creating a crisis in our public education system.
“Albertans understand the value of public education, so it should be a concern that while the province touts a surplus, students are not seeing any of the benefits. Their quality of education is suffering.”
—ATA president Jason Schilling
Back-to-school means another year of overcrowded classrooms, unmet needs, decreased support for students with complex issues and a lack of learning resources.
“Teachers are facing conditions that are not fair or sustainable. We cannot expect them to do more with less again and again. Public education is in crisis. This chronic underfunding of public education will be the legacy of this Premier and government.”
—ATA president Jason Schilling
The time to act is now. The future of Alberta’s students demands it. Visit StopTheExcuses.ca to learn more about underfunding in classrooms and see the latest ads.
Contact your MLA and ask why Alberta spends the least per student in the country. Investing more in Alberta’s future is the least we can do.
The Alberta Teachers’ Association, as the professional organization of teachers, promotes and advances public education, supports teachers’ professional practice and serves as the advocate for its 46,000 members.