Funding for Private Schools (November 28)
Mr. Hehr: During her leadership campaign the Premier openly expressed concerns that the continued development of private and charter schools placed our public education system at risk of becoming a second-tier option.
Through discussions I’ve had with parents regarding this issue, some are choosing private schools as a result of lower class sizes.
To the Minister of Education: given that most private schools have smaller class sizes, why does this government continue to subsidize these organizations with taxpayers’ dollars instead of implementing the government’s own Learning Commission report, that would see class sizes in the public system be smaller, a promise this government made back in 2003?
Mr. Lukaszuk: Mr. Speaker, this member continues to attack private schools and parents’ choice for the last few days in this House already. The answer is simple. As a matter of fact, we are doing a province-wide review right now of the public education system, making sure that the public options always – always – produce the best possible education for our children. However, having said that, in this province it has always been and it will be for as long as this government is in place the situation where parents can choose what kind of a school they send their children to. There is nothing elitist about it. We simply support choice.
Mr. Hehr: Given that some private schools in Alberta charge parents up to $17,000 a year and that these schools still receive a large per-student public grant, doesn’t this go against the minister’s own mandate to create an inclusive education system?
Mr. Lukaszuk: Mr. Speaker, if these parents choose to spend that kind of money on their child’s education and, I would argue, not getting any better results than our children are getting in the public school system, that is their choice. Their money; their choice. But at the same time I can guarantee all Albertans that having my child in a publicly funded, not private system: she is receiving as good an education, if not better, than in a private school. I’m exercising my choice; they’re exercising theirs.
Mr. Hehr: Given that last week the minister was lauding a private Islamic school in his community, I was wondering if the minister knew that this school’s advertising campaign to attract people away from the public education system is to openly state that they do not let special-needs students enrol. Why are we funding an organization like this that clearly is not interested in supporting an inclusive educational mandate?
Mr. Lukaszuk: Mr. Speaker, that is offensive to the operators of these private schools. We also have a Sikh school, a Khalsa school. The fact is that private schools are mandated to accept children as long as the parents choose to put their children into those schools. We have a variety of schools, but at no point in time is the funding of public education in any way sacrificed. As a matter of fact, these children that go to private schools – those buildings are built by private dollars, which offsets some of the costs for public education.
Alberta Hansard, November 28, 2011