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“Every public school student in Alberta will have to be educated for less money,” the letter states.

“This budget does not adequately account for more students in the system, increasing expenses related to teacher pay, transportation, school maintenance and other resources and supports.”

The letter also says that private education in Alberta will see a $5-million increase in spending, going from $286 million last year to $291 million in 2019.

Photo by Jim Wells / Postmedia

“This clearly shows the government’s commitment to redirecting public taxpayer dollars to privately run institutions.”

Sending a letter is easy, Silva explained, only requiring a name, email and postal code at this link and the letter is sent directly to a person’s MLA based on the postal code provided.

“Any time an MLA receives even five letters on an issue, it’s important. So this works because MLAs have a personal stake in this. They need to get re-elected, and they need to react to constituents that are not happy.”

Officials with the Calgary Board of Education estimate a funding shortfall of $32 million, which could result in the loss of as many as 320 positions, including teachers, educational assistants and support staff.

Principals are meeting with staff over the next few weeks, expecting to lay off teachers and shuffle students to other, larger classes, midway through the school year.

The CBE says that up to $85 million in critical grants, including the all-important class size initiative grant to keep K-3 class sizes down, have been reduced to a transitional grant of $53 million. But the $32-million shortfall could balloon to as high as $48 million depending on how many teachers need to be paid out through to Christmas.