UCP REFUSE TO REDUCE CLASS SIZES WITH FEDERAL FUNDING

EDMONTON -- Despite receiving hundreds of millions of dollars from the federal government, the UCP are still refusing to put the money towards smaller class sizes. 

The announcement comes a week after the federal government announced Alberta would receive $262.8 million in funding for back-to-school safety measures. Sarah Hoffman, NDP Education Critic, thinks the delay in the announcement from the UCP was unnecessary and could have been made before kids went back to school.

“Today, tens of thousands of parents waved goodbye to their kids as they dropped them off in over-crowded classrooms,” said Hoffman.

The delay comes after the deadline for enrollment, leaving school boards and parents guessing about how the federal money would be spent. 

Instead of using the money to implement public health guidelines by increasing physical distancing and reducing class sizes, the announcement from the UCP attempted to fill the hole from their previous cuts.

The UCP already cut per-student funding in their last budget after cutting $291 million from the Class Size Initiative and a further $128 million after laying off 20,000 education workers in the spring. 

“The federal money only replaces about half of what the UCP already cut,” said Hoffman.