Cory Morgan: As Alberta Teachers Strike, Students’ Interests Must Come Before Ideology

The Canadian Press/Jonathan Hayward

Commentary

Albertans were surprised when the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) overwhelmingly rejected what appeared to be a reasonable offer and chose to go on strike. On the table was a 12 percent wage increase along with a commitment to hire 3,000 new teachers. It would have made Alberta’s teachers among the highest-paid in Western Canada. The ATA has been reticent to offer answers when asked what they are seeking, at least as far as wages and salaries are concerned. As the strike is settling in, it appears the union’s concern has more ideological underpinnings than financial ones.

In recent interviews, ATA President Jason Schilling has been focused on pointing out how much public funding goes toward private and charter schools in Alberta. An Alberta teacher is now petitioning to have a referendum to ban public funding of private schools, and ATA members are applauding it.

Alberta has been a leader in Canada in expanding school choice through private schools and charter schools. Alberta also has one of the highest numbers of home-schooled children in Canada. The ATA has consistently been in opposition to every form of education provision outside of regular public schools.

If Alberta defunded or shut down alternative forms of education as the ATA would like, it would harm students, teachers, and the government finances all in one blow.

The ATA claimed high class sizes as part of the reason for striking, though they declined the offer of 3,000 additional teachers. Currently, in Alberta, there are roughly 38,000 students in private schools, 11,000 in charter schools, and 25,000 in home-schooling environments. That’s 74,000 students not taking up space and resources in public schools. If those alternative forms of education were defunded, many parents would be forced to enroll their children in regular public schools. This would cause a disruptive spike in class sizes and lead to shortages of everything from teachers to school buses.

Having students in alternative school environments saves the government money, which can be dedicated to public education. Alberta spends about $13,500 per student in public schools. Independent schools only get 70 percent of that funding per student transferred from the government, leading to a saving of over $4,000 per student. Home-schooled students get less than $1,000 per student, which grants a massive saving to taxpayers. Charter schools get full funding per student, but are not allowed to charge parents any form of tuition on top of that. If the ATA wants more funding in the public system, pushing students out of alternative schools isn’t the way to do it.

The ATA mentions class complexity as another challenge it wants addressed. Many urban schools have large numbers of students who speak English as a second language (ESL). Special needs students are often mixed with the rest of the classes, too, and these students require more direct attention. The thing is, both private and charter schools ease exactly those pressures. Charter schools are in place, specializing in ESL, trauma and indigenous needs, low socioeconomic status, arts, and gifted categories. The charter schools are providing exactly what the ATA says students need, yet it opposes them. A key part of the opposition is that charter schools aren’t part of the teachers’ union.

Beyond just wanting to expand its base of union members through pulling funding from alternative schooling options, the teachers’ union is heavily driven by an ideology of centralized and standardized services. School choice is anathema to the union as it clashes with its vision of equity. Students with special needs or with parents willing to spend more on tuition may receive a better education than some locked into the public system. Students excelling outside of the public system also highlight some of the inefficiencies of the public system.

A parallel can be drawn to the health-care system in Canada, where the state maintains a legislated monopoly on provision. Unions and activists fight vociferously against all forms of private health-care provision, even if it is universally covered, as they fear the addition of competition within the system.

Alberta has served as a leader in expanding school choice in Canada. Whatever may come from the negotiations in the current strike, the government must not allow the teachers’ union to win a concession that could limit or eliminate choices for parents.

The interests of the student must come before the ideology of any one entity, and having a broad selection of educational options serves students best.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.