It might seem like a small amount, but an unexpected reduction in funding from the provincial government will hit the Grande Yellowhead Regional Division hard next year.

The provincial budget, released late last month, included a slight increase in the average funding for school boards — 3.2 per cent across the province. However, funding for the GYRD has only been bumped up by 2.64 per cent.

While what little extra coming into the division will be used to pay for increased staffing costs (including salaries and benefits as negotiated in the recent three-year collective bargaining agreement), there had been an expectation from regional administrators that the province would continue to provide extra money dedicated to reducing class sizes. Accordingly, the board and staff had planned to target the lower grade levels (kindergarten to grade three) and use whatever extra money was left over to hire librarians and counsellors, positions that had previously been eliminated in some schools.

Instead, the GYRD will have to make do with what staff they have at present, as the province will not fund all school divisions for the third year as initially planned. In fact, the province has restricted its support to those jurisdictions which have yet to make significant progress towards the class-size recommendations set by Alberta Education. Any school division with an average class size of less than 18.5 for kindergarten to grade three will not receive any funding. The GYRD has an average class size of 18.0.

At the monthly meeting of the school board on April 5, trustees were confounded by the announcement.

“We are being penalized... for meeting the province’s requirements,” said Jasper trustee Gilbert Wall.