Education Minister Chester Gillan advised today that the new education budget is receiving positive support at budget briefings organized by his department over the past few days for school boards and partner groups.
"People are pleased that the new budget will address many of their priorities such as increased operating funding for school boards and post secondary education, new money for school construction, and substantial new funding for curriculum and key programs in the public school system," said the minister. "They are also very happy with government's commitment to improve the learning environment over the next few years by adding teachers even as student enrolments decline."
The Department of Education budget will increase to $218.5 million this year. This increase of more than $16 million or 8.2 per cent is the largest increase the Department has ever received.
New funding of $9.8 million will be allocated this year to enhance front line educational services in kindergartens and public schools. Base salary budgets will increase by $7.4 million to fund salary increments outlined in the collective agreements and new positions added last year. The Department of Education funds approximately 2,300 full-time teaching and other positions within the three school boards.
School board operating budgets will increase by $760,000 to address increased operating costs such as waste management, maintenance and insurance, and to incorporate into base budget supplementary funding provided to boards last year.
Government has approved in principle a new formula to allocate funding to school boards for instructional staff. The new model will be phased in over the next six years to add teachers in key program areas and reduce class sizes especially in the early grades. Funding of $500,000 has been allocated to begin implementation of the new model this year, specifically for six additional teachers, and additional teacher assistants and youth workers.
"Using the new staffing and funding formula, we hope to address the challenges of class composition and achieve class sizes that are comparable with the best in Canada," said Minister Gillan.
A three-year initiative to introduce new science curriculum will begin this year with new funding of $400,000. The program will require a total investment of $1.2 million over three years for textbooks, classroom resources and teacher training. This initiative follows the implementation of new language arts and mathematics curriculum completed over the past six years at a cost of $3.6 million.
Funding of $300,000 will be used to increase the minimum wage of certified kindergarten instructors and to increase funding to kindergarten programs. After three years of operation, the community-based kindergarten program now serves 1,605 students in 90 programs and reaches 98 per cent of the eligible kindergarten population.
English and French early literacy programs will receive an additional $150,000 to support children in grade 1 who have difficulty reading and writing.
More than $6 million has been allocated in this fiscal year for phase two of new construction and renovations at Bluefield High School and Summerside Intermediate School. The Bluefield project will include the addition of new career exploration course facilities and major renovations to the gymnasium and school interior. Construction at Summerside Intermediate School will include a new gymnasium, cafeteria, and computer lab, as well as major renovations to the existing facility.
UPEI will receive additional operating funding of $1 million this year to assist with increasing costs and to help control the increasing costs of tuition. Holland College will also receive additional funding of $1 million this year, of which $120,000 will be allocated to improve trades curriculum and address skill shortages in the trades. AVC will receive $500,000 more this year to enhance teaching and research.
Provincial funding for the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission will increase by $480,000 to support an increasing number of students enrolled in programs in other Maritime provinces that are not available in PEI.
Funding will be provided as necessary to enhance the PEI Student Loan Program. Annual exemptions for income earned while in school and for merit-based scholarships will increase from $600 to $1,700 and $1,800, respectively. The weekly loan limit for the provincial student loan program will increase from $110 per week of study to $165 per week of study.
The Community Service Bursary Program will receive an additional $50,000 this year to meet increasing demand for this program which rewards high school students with bursaries for volunteer work.
Department of Education Budget Highlights are available on the Web site at: http://www.gov.pe.ca/go/educ_budget03E and http://www.gov.pe.ca/go/educ_budget03F