Alberta's operational budget for education will increase by $426 million to a record $9.88 billion in the 2025-26 budget.
A new funding model, based on a two-year enrolment average, was also introduced in the budget that is projected to increase funding to school authorities by $242.8 million over three years.
Nicole Buchanan, board chair with Red Deer Public Schools, said the board looks forward to working with the government to understand how changing the Weighted Moving Average funding model from three years to two years will support its schools, staff and students.
"Our board has advocated for predictable and sustainable funding, which is essential to meet the needs of our growing student population," said Buchanan in a statement.
"While we await further details on what the overall provincial budget means specifically for our division, we remain committed to providing excellence in teaching and learning to all of our students."
Classroom complexity funding will increase by 20 per cent to $55 million and is part of more than $1.6 billion in learning support funding grants in the 2025-26 fiscal year. These grants support students with specialized learning needs, as well as groups of students who may need additional learning support, such as refugee students and those learning English as an additional language, and program unit funding.
Rates will also increase by 2.32 per cent for Program Unit Funding (PUF), Specialized Learning Support, Moderate Language Delay, English as an Additional Language, Francisation, First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Education, Refugee Student, Socio-Economic Status, Geographic, School Nutrition and Transportation grants.
The francophone equivalency grant will increase by 25 per cent, and SuperNet funding by 20 per cent.
A new School Technology Grant will help strengthen cybersecurity at schools, and a funding increase for operations and maintenance includes new money to help rural school jurisdictions maintain their buildings more effectively.
But Alberta Teachers' Association (ATA) said since the base education grant remains unchanged, the amount of money school districts will receive per student will not increase.
ATA president Jason Schilling said holding the line on the base education grant, which last saw an increase in 2023–24, means the province is continuing to lose ground due to inflation.
“There’s not nearly enough new funding in this budget to meet the needs in our classrooms," Schilling said.
Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said that over the next three years, education funding will increase by $1.1 billion to help hire more teachers, reduce class sizes, and get more support staff into schools.
Marilyn Dennis, Alberta School Boards Association president, said the new budget will help school divisions provide much-needed resources to support student success.
“Alberta School Boards Association (ASBA) appreciates government's responsiveness to feedback from our public, catholic and francophone member school boards on enrolment pressures, rising costs and increasing classroom complexity," Dennis said.
