The primary purpose of the Alberta governments round tables on Education are two fold. Firstly a short term response to the fiscal mismanagement of previous Progressive Conservative governments. And secondly a view towards Americanizing our education system.

In the short term the Government is using the deficit as an excuse to cut funding for all levels of education as well as social services and Medicare. What is obvious is that the series of roundtable's on Education have systematically backfired. In fact the public response to the governments' roundtable's as well as to the ATA roundtable's has shown that the public is "willing" to fund education and educational institutions even if it means higher taxes. This was not the response the Klein government was looking for.

In a time when the terms "global economy," "global competition" and "education" are used in the same breath, we have to seriously question the foundation of the Klein governments working papers on Education . In fact by trying to define "basic" education at the primary and secondary level, in the Meeting the Challenge workbook, we see an underlying philosophy that would radically alter what we know as "public education." In simple terms it is an attempt to move away from providing a comprehensive education for all Albertans.

The government clearly is suggesting that we have a two tiered education system in the province. Public Education would provide minimal basics and the rest of curriculum such as; fine arts courses, industrial arts/vocational training., International Baccalaureate/Academic Challenge courses etc. would be done by private schools.

The Klein Government has no mandate to Privatize Education, on any level. Yet this is what they are hell bent on doing. In order to shift the financial burden of their twenty years of investment blunders, the Klein government is preparing Albertans for a very specific future; an Americanized one.

The Klein challenge to Education and Post Secondary Education is to "rationalize." To look at privatizing schools and their services as well as allowing more and more private schools (such as the so called DeVry Institute) to take up the load .

Internally the government proposals want us to view schools not as a social responsibility, borne by all Albertans for the benefit of all Albertans, but as a consumer market place. This is the current language of many Education bureaucrats and administrators. The education system is seen as a Ford factory, or perhaps a Nissan factory, where taxpayers are seen as consumers and children are seen as products. The Klein Governments proposals fit into this trendy "marketplace" thinking

The roundtable proposals for defining a "basic education" clearly show that the government wishes to only provide the basic minimum. The rest of the courses would be conducted by private enterprise; that is private schools and colleges. As well some educational course such as those that are work or job related would be conducted by business themselves. Businesses in many cases, who have failed to pay their fair share of the tax burden of education in the first place, would now be getting even bigger tax breaks by providing "on the job training" in the guise of education.

On the Job Training is not education!!! It is job specific, industry specific, and lacks the overall training that a comprehensive vocational education in the public system can and should provide. It doesn't allow us to acknowledge that plumbers, x-ray technicians, auto mechanics, also may want to know about Shakespeare, Quantum Mechanics, or Medieval History.

It is the same with so called "Fine Arts courses." In elementary school music, drama, and art are an integral part of a child's growth and education. This should be the case in the later grades, but sadly it is not. Usually these are the first courses to be cut, since they are seen as options. Rather than expanding these courses and access to them the Klein Government would see these as extraneous, and would allow them to be provided by private schools.

Arts and Culture in Canada are not only a crucial part of our national identity and social culture but a major industry as well. Television, Movies and other electronic media production have grown in this country over the past twenty years. Failure to provide for this education and training in the public education system means that we will lose control of our cultural institutions, our technological abilities and our children's ability to be well rounded culturally aware individuals. Privatization of fine arts courses will mean ghettoization, Americanization and again "on the job training" disguised as education.

Removing Academic education from the basics ; e.g. the International Baccalaureate (IB) and Academic Challenge (AC) courses from public education means we will step back into the past. It opens the door for the British Private School system, reinforcing an elitism based on money and ones academic abilities. What this means as well is that public education will be seen as second best, for those of "average" intelligence, stigmatizing both students and parents. It also leaves the door open for further decline in funding of public facilities when they are seen as "second best". And it opens the door for an American style voucher system approach to education.

Integration of the severely handicapped is a tough issue currently being debated in the education field. It too is not seen as part of a basic public educational need by the Government. In reality then whether severely handicapped children should be integrated or not is not the question, rather that they should be given an education equal to that of any other children is our concern. The Government would wish to again see the burdens of educating these children fall to their parents or guardians. Thus increasing the financial burden on those who face the enormous challenge of raising children with special needs.

The Alberta Government plans on privatizing our public education system. It is using the cover of the deficit to dismantle our heritage, and sell it lock stock and barrel to private schools, corporations and special interest groups. As Albertans and taxpayers, we reject the notion that one can define a "basic education" if it does not include a full education for all Alberta students regardless of whether they are going on to post secondary educational institutions, are becoming technicians, mechanics or are becoming painters, actors or TV. Technicians. Whether they are "gifted" students or "special needs" students. All should be provided for in our public education system. What this government is proposing is to fragment our public education, and sell it off to the highest bidder.

What they have done with the ALCB is what they would like to do to our schools. In order to privatize our schools and to get the public support they need the Klein Government, in spite of public outcry, protests and roundtable findings is determined to reduce the governments share of financial responsibility by 20%. In 1961 the Provincial share of education costs was 88%, today it is only 54%. The Klein proposal will see this further reduced to 34%!! This means that the burden of taxes will fall upon each school board district to collect. It means that our provincial government will be spending less on education than any other province in Canada. And by spending less, they hope to reduce the education schools can provide so that Albertans will be forced to support privatizing education. There are no real tax savings in the governments proposals, only a shifting of the burden to municipalities and public sector workers.

We in the Trade Union movement know how valuable public education is. We have fought for it for the past one hundred years. We have been in the forefront of promoting education, not only for our own members, but for all Albertans and Canadians. We reject this Governments call to dismantle our education system bit by bit in order to sell it off to private schools and corporations. We reject the idea that we can face the "global challenges" facing us in this "New World Order" without a strong and well-funded public education system. As with other Albertans who have responded to the Roundtable's on Education we believe that this government is responsible for funding education. The real problem in education is the fact that staff in our public schools, at all levels from support staff through teachers, are being asked, and have been asked for the past ten years, to do more with less.

It is time that this Government which has been reducing its financial commitment to Education in boom times as well as recessions, stops putting the burden of their financial mismanagement on the children and taxpayers of Alberta.

It is time that the Corporate pals of the Government paid their fair share for all government services. Services that provide them with a well-educated tax paying workforce of Albertans. If Business and its Government are so worried about public education it is time they started paying for it rather than trying to privatize it!!!

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