Edmonton’s major school boards say they had no plans to lay off staff over school closures amid COVID-19 until the government ordered them to reduce spending on Saturday.

On Wednesday, Premier Jason Kenney said “many” school boards and superintendents contacted Education Minister Adriana LaGrange after school closures were announced on March 16 about staff who were not working.

“Several of those school boards indicated to the minister of education that they intended to lay those individuals off as they were not working any longer, which is generally what has sadly happened across the economy as there have been so many shutdowns,” Kenney said.

In a statement Thursday, LaGrange’s press secretary Colin Aitchison said discussions happen “in confidence” and that “the government will not be disclosing which boards were planning on laying off staff prior to the funding adjustments.”

Edmonton Public Schools chairwoman Trisha Estabrooks said her board “was not planning on laying staff off as a result of classes being cancelled.”

Lori Nagy, spokeswoman for Edmonton Catholic Schools, said in a statement the board “had no plans to lay off any staff before receiving the funding reduction information from the province on Saturday.”

On Saturday, the government backed out of a promise to maintain school funding throughout the pandemic and announced it was requiring school boards cut 14 per cent cut of their base instruction grant for May and June, as well as a 51 per cent in transportation funding. The change is expected to save $128 million.

Edmonton Public Schools said Tuesday the board is expected to cut $13.8 million from its base instruction grant and $3.7 million from transportation. It is in the process of figuring out which staff will be impacted.

In a statement, Edmonton Catholic School chairwoman Laura Thibert said the board is still deciding which staff to lay off.

Meanwhile, some of the province’s smaller school districts have found ways to meet the government’s expected funding cut without laying off in-school support staff.

Mark Davidson, superintendent at Medicine Hat Public School Division, said Thursday the board was able to find approximately $1.25 million in savings — about $250,000 more than the government required — on “everything from postage to telecommunications to paper.”

Staff are continuing to work even while the buildings are closed. The board signed a deal with the union to allow staff to perform work outside of their usual duties. Those who are not working with students online might help convert student files to a digital format or help with maintenance, for example.

When asked if his division reached out to LaGrange about possible cuts, Davidson said it did not.

“We had never explored the notion of laying off staff until we received the announcement this last Saturday of the requirement of the 14 per cent,” he said.

Red Deer Public Schools also issued a denial.

“Not us,” said superintendent Stu Henry on Thursday.

Henry said his division was able to find the $1.5 million the government required by laying off all educational assistants for the month of June and by eliminating money for substitute staff.

“After the initial news we actually found the ministry to be very helpful and flexible in trying to meet this target,” Henry said.

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