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Funding for Alberta’s schools and post-secondary institutions should be tied to performance, not student numbers, the MacKinnon panel says.

The panel, headed by former Saskatchewan finance minister Janice MacKinnon, was tasked by the UCP government to take a deep dive into Alberta’s fiscal picture.

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In its report, the panel argued that K-12 school funding formulas based purely on student numbers — as opposed to outcomes — “have a number of shortcomings.”

“Linking some portion of funding to school boards achieving strategic outcomes desired by the ministry might create more alignment across districts, promote greater collaboration and lower school board administrative costs,” it wrote.

But “performance” and “strategic outcomes” cannot always be measured, argued critics of the panel recommendations.

“This report is an attack on public education. Make no bones about it,” said Barb Silva, spokeswoman for the Support Our Students advocacy group.