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Sept. 19, 2003

Klein says he’s prepared to spend $500 million in five years to implement the Alberta Commission on Learning’s still unseen recommendations.

Photo by Rick MacWilliam / Edmonton Journal

Oct. 7, 2003

The Alberta Commission on Learning releases its final report with 95 recommendations. Among them are class size guidelines. Class sizes were the most frequent concern from the public, Mackenzie says. The commission recommends government spend nearly $600 million more on education during the next five years. They call for 1,900 more teachers to reduce class sizes.

Dec. 4, 2003

The government announces it accepts 84 of the commission’s 95 recommendations, rejects two of them, and plans to study the others.

March 24, 2004

The PCs increase the education department’s 2004-05 budget by 6.9 per cent, or $250 million, including $60 million to hire back some teachers laid off in 2003.

July 16, 2004

While contemplating a fall election call, the Klein government announces $350 million more for Alberta school boards to hire 2,265 new teachers over the next three years. Some of the money is immediate, allowing boards to hire 1,355 teachers for the next school year. The province says it intends to meet the commission’s class-size guidelines by the 2006-07 school year.

2007

The original three-year window for class-size funding initiative expires. Alberta Education decides to continue allocating money to districts tied to class sizes.

2008

Class-size averages across Alberta hit their lowest numbers in a decade. The average K-3 class has 18.2 children, the average Grade 4-6 class has 21.2 children, and the average junior high class has 22.4 students. High school class sizes don’t bottom out until fall 2012, when the average dips to 21.8. A bureaucratic change means school boards are no longer required to report how they are spending money allotted to keep class sizes down.

2010

Education Minister Dave Hancock changes the province’s class-size initiative funding to target only K-3 and high school career and technology classes, saying the early years is where small class size makes the most difference. Alberta school boards have hired 2,900 more teachers since 2004. Average class sizes are below provincial targets in Grades 4-12, but remain above the 17-child target for K-3 classes.

Fall 2017

The ATA begins a public awareness campaign in which they ask teachers to fill out cards listing their class sizes and noting how many pupils have extra needs.