Two retired Jasper educators were braving the cold in the name of Alberta’s public school system this past weekend.
On Sunday, former principal and recently-retired school board trustee, Dale Karpluk, stood alongside retired language arts and social studies teacher, Sandy Cox, outside of the Jasper Activity Centre. Karpluk and Cox were joined by current Jasper Jr/Sr High School teacher André Morson and together, the three were asking their fellow Albertans to sign a petition supporting public education.
The petition, which asks “Do you think the Government of Alberta should end its current practice of allocating public funds to accredited independent (private) schools?” requires 177,732 signatures before its proponents can use the citizen initiative process to have a constitutional referendum conducted. They have until February 11 to collect the names.
In the meantime, its proponents are hoping to raise awareness on how Alberta tax payers prop up private (and charter) schools.
“Many people in Alberta have zero idea that there are public funds going to private schools,” Morson said. “They don’t realize they’re subsidizing these generally well-off families that can afford these schools regardless.”
Currently in Alberta, private schools receive 70 percent of the funding that public schools are allocated. This, despite most private schools charging tuition (on average about $8,000 per year). Unlike public schools, private schools can choose which students they accept. Moreover, they aren’t governed by elected trustees.
“My opinion is that private schools are an option for parents, but get out your cheque book if that is your choice,” Karpluk said.
Karpluk says private schools are not only exclusive, but unaccountable to the citizens of Alberta—which is fine, she says, so long as they aren’t being supported by the public purse (such as in Ontario). But that’s not the case in Alberta. Recent budget projections estimate provincial funding for accredited private schools will be around $461 million for Alberta’s 2025/2026 year, according to Support our Students, a non-partisan education advocacy organization with chapters across Alberta.
“When funding is diverted from the public system to support private schools, the public system is weakened,” Karpluk said.
The total provincial budget for education is about $9.9 billion. Private schools account for about five percent of that.
Since long before her retirement in 2011, Cox has witnessed the erosion of educational supports such as Educational Assistants (EAs), school counsellors and librarians. Meanwhile, funding for private schools has increased. Historically, back in 1974, 30 percent of the government’s basic instructional per-student grant was allocated to private schools. In 1997 it was increased to 60 percent and in 2008 it increased to 70 percent.
In 2024, private schools received that same allocation, plus another $14 million to fund the growth of new private schools, according to SOS.
“Public funds should belong to public education,” Cox said. “There’s more and more of a push to create a two-tier system.”
Not all private schools are exclusive, the Association of Independent Schools and Colleges in Alberta (AISCA) has asserted. About half of the province’s private early childhood education schools run programs for young children with disabilities, AISCA told the CBC.
The Alberta Funds Public School petition was approved in October. Its proponent, Calgary teacher Alicia Taylor, must get 10 percent of the number of electors who voted in the last provincial general election in 2023 to sign the petition for Elections Alberta to consider it.
Alberta Education’s per-student funding for private schools is the highest level of private school subsidization in the country.
“The question to consider is should public tax dollars go to fund private schools?” Karpluk said.
Karpluk can be reached at dalekarp@shaw.ca. The Citizen Initiative Petition will be at the December 6 Christmas Craft Fair at the Jasper Yellowhead Museum and Archives.
Bob Covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com
