Division welcomes additional funding to address operational pressures

Lethbridge School Division welcomes today’s announcement from The Government of Alberta that aims to help address enrolment growth in the province.
The Division is awaiting further details in terms of how much additional funding the Division could be receiving for the 2024/2025 school year.
The province is allocating an additional $125 million for divisions across Alberta for operational expenses, to support expected enrollment growth.
Lethbridge School Division Board Chair Allison Purcell said the infusion of funding is positive, as she added the Board will continue to voice its preference for a new funding formula.
“As a Division, we have long advocated to fund every student, and even though this isn’t a change to the funding formula, it is a recognition that more funds are needed for us to educate the students in our care everyday,” she said. “We appreciate the much-needed increases and will need time to figure out how and where the funds will be used.”
Purcell added with growing student enrollment, the Division will have to carefully determine where the funding will make the most impact for students come September.
“This additional funding will provide us with much needed resources to address some of the pressures created by growing enrollment in our schools, including hiring additional staff to support students in classrooms.”
The province also announced a $90 million investment for modular classrooms. However, those funds have been earmarked for Calgary, Edmonton and surrounding areas.