Fair and Equitable Funding
Alberta's funding distribution model, the Renewed Funding Framework, is a method of allocating funds to school jurisdictions that allows locally elected school boards to provide a quality education that reflects the needs of their local students and constituents.
The framework is an allocation system that distributes funds equitably, provides maximum flexibility to accommodate local decision-making, and requires public accountability for the use of resources and the results achieved.
Funding is distributed in three categories:
- Base Funding - to address basic instruction-related costs.
- Additional Funding for Differential Factors - to address the unique and differing costs faced by each jurisdiction. This funding takes into account the student population that a jurisdiction serves and the unique jurisdictional and environmental factors where a school board operates.
- Targeted Funding - to address the construction of school buildings and other provincial initiatives, such as the Student Health Initiative, and the Alberta Initiative for School Improvement.
With the exception of targeted funding, government does not specify how school boards should spend their funds. It is the responsibility of locally elected school board trustees to use their funds effectively to address local needs. Each board is fully accountable for its spending decisions.
Education funding comes from two revenue sources: education property taxes and general government revenues. Using two revenue streams provides stability for education funding.
Education Property Taxes
The education property tax supports all public and separate school students. The education property tax helps pay for instructional costs including teacher salaries, textbooks, and other classroom resources. The education property tax is not used to fund other government operations, capital expenditures like school facility construction or renovations, teachers' pensions, private, charter or Francophone schools.
All property owners pay the education property tax. People who rent or lease property contribute indirectly through their monthly rent or lease payments. As the education system benefits all Albertans, people without children in school also pay the education property tax.
The Constitution of Canada guarantees Protestant and Roman Catholic citizens' minority rights to a separate education system. In communities where there are separate school jurisdictions that have opted-out of the ASFF, property owners must declare their religious affiliation, either Protestant or Roman Catholic, to determine what education property tax dollars should be directed to those separate school jurisdictions. For more information on declaring or changing school board support, contact the local municipal office.
