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The concerned staffer said some of the money was raised by parents for specific purposes not related to teaching.

“As a parent, I would be livid to find out that my football fee or art fee was actually going to teacher staffing,” said the employee.

At William Aberhart, funds totalling more than $134,000 were being drawn, including $22,000 intended for a phys ed bus and $43,000 slated for a gymnasium sound system upgrade.

Following last October’s provincial budget, the CBE said it faced a shortfall of $32 million and was forced to cut 317 contract teaching jobs.

But the province then provided a one-time $15 million in maintenance money it said could be used to avert those layoffs while also insisting the board could deploy other funds, including reserves, to bridge budget gaps.

The board then rescinded those layoffs but said nothing about schools diverting cash for unrelated purposes towards keeping teachers.

That policy won’t be confined to just one high school, said Alberta Teachers’ Association Local 38 president Bob Cocking, who pinned the blame on the provincial government.

“Principals at each school will be faced with similar issues and will need to make tough decisions on where they can make cuts, make do for this year and possibly put off for another time,” he said.

“All of this was totally avoidable and unnecessary if our government had kept funding the same for this school year and then made cuts/adjustments in the spring for our fall staffing.”