CBE Faces $7M Maintenance Shortfall, Schools at Risk

Calgary Board of Education Faces Major Funding Cuts for School Maintenance: A Looming Crisis

The Calgary Board of Education (CBE) is grappling with a significant funding shift, resulting in a shortfall of approximately six to seven million dollars for school maintenance. This cut, which eliminated the infrastructure maintenance and renewal pot entirely, has reduced the CBEs overall maintenance capacity by twenty per cent.

The implications of this funding reduction are severe, with schools potentially facing more unexpected breakdowns, such as malfunctioning boilers or leaky roofs, which would be more costly and disruptive to repair on the spot.

Trustees, particularly those concerned with the sixty per cent of CBE schools that are over fifty years old, are sounding the alarm. Students in these schools are already dealing with outdated facilities, including ancient bathrooms and damp fields, and the board is dipping into teaching funds to cover basic operational costs like keeping the lights on.

Board member Susan Vukadinovic warns that the situation is reaching a critical point without the dedicated funding. However, the boards budget for next year shows promise, with an increase of nearly sixty million dollars and plans to add over one hundred teachers and twice as many assistants. The CBE aims to balance this growth without touching reserves, focusing on student success.

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