Alberta Funds Public Schools petition will do more harm than good, says expert from Cardus
Catharine Kavanagh says the petition and potential referendum will impact middle and lower class families in Alberta
As the Alberta Funds Public Schools petition continues to gather signatures, an expert believes the potential referendum question will do more harm than good for students in Alberta.
The proposed question by Calgary educator Alicia Taylor asks: “Should the Government of Alberta end its current practice of allocating public funds to accredited independent (private) schools?”
Catharine Kavanagh, western stakeholder director for the non-partisan think-tank Cardus, said their group is concerned about the petition and potential referendum, which can impact middle- and lower-class families in Alberta.
“It’s this partial funding which Alberta provides for independent school students is the biggest factor in making it possible for lower-income families to even consider finding an alternative that meets their child’s needs,” Kavanagh said. “Quite often, this includes families with kids who have physical disabilities or maybe learning disabilities, social anxieties, or other particular needs, and so we don’t understand why the teachers’ union wants to take that option away from them.”
In Alberta, less than nine per cent of all independent schools quality as elite or top tier schools that have competitive admissions or high tuition.
The other 91 per cent consists of smaller, community-oriented schools that fill gaps left by the public school system by meeting diverse learning styles or take unique philosophical or religious approaches to education.
Families who choose these schools often come from below or at average households.
“Data shows that parents who send their kids to independent schools are not wealthy families at all, and in fact, they’re much more likely than your average Albertan to have a below average household income,” she said. “They’re more blue-collar, so they’re far more likely to be nurses, farmers, or even teachers themselves, and we know that almost 90% of independent school families are making significant financial sacrifices in order to send their children to those schools.”
In the 2024-2025 school year, 48,000 students in Alberta were enrolled in an independent school.
Looking at per-student funding in Alberta, independent school students cost 30 per cent less than public school students.
“If we turn that into some real numbers, those savings are worth around $4,000 per child per year,” Kavanagh said. “That means that annually, taxpayers are saving $190 million in the provincial treasury, and so if anything, independent schools are really helping public schools because they’re relieving pressure on them while saving taxpayers money, and also making alternative education options affordable for middle-class and lower-income families.”
Compared to public institutions like the CBE or CCSD, Kavanagh said independent schools have more flexibility to meet the pedagogical needs of students.
“A good example is the Janus Academy here in Calgary, which exclusively serves students with autism, and they’re able to provide specialized programming that is just extremely extensive in supporting those students that really need extra time and attention,” she said.
If the petition is successful, Kavanagh said it wouldn’t be hard to imagine that without partial funding from the province, tuition costs would double, resulting in families being priced out of their current independent schools.
“This year, the U.K. government added a 20 per cent tax to independent school tuition, and as a result there are many students who left their independent school, or their independent schools that have completely closed down,” she said. “Both of those elements are forcing thousands of students back into overcrowded public schools.”
With Alberta already facing a school crowding crisis, this would create a difficult situation on an already burdened public school system.
“If even half of them moved back into their neighbourhood schools, that would mean more than 24,000 additional kids in a system which is already bursting at the seams, and it would already mean extreme space demands,” Kavanagh said. “The province would need at least 24 new schools, each one accommodating 1,000 kids, and those are pretty big schools, essentially built overnight.
“This is just completely unrealistic, because that would be on top of the 100 new schools and renovations that are currently being prioritized at this moment over seven years to accommodate our existing space challenges.”
With the timing of the petition aligning with the ongoing teachers’ strike, Kavanagh said now’s the time to dive into this conversation.
“The timing is opportune to have this conversation about what a well-funded, responsive education system can look like,” she said. “I think certainly more people are paying attention to issues around education because of the teachers’ strike right now.”
Kavanagh said one of the things that makes Alberta’s education so great is the many options that are available.
“If we look at even international rankings, Alberta ranks number two right behind Singapore,” Kavanagh said. “So, certainly doubling down on the ethos of our current system, and having this diverse array of options, which hopefully does have something for everyone, I think that’s what we should be talking about.
“Finding ways to improve education for everyone, rather than making it worse for everyone. That’s the discussion I think we should be having.”