An ocean of teachers swamped the Alberta legislature grounds yesterday with a lesson for the provincial government.
"We will no longer be the scapegoats for all the social and economic problems in this province," Alberta Teachers' Association president Bauni Mackay told a crowd of more than 12,000, the largest teachers' rally ever in the capital.
Mackay complained that teacher-bashing is rampant in Alberta, and it's time the public realized that government cuts have hurt the future of the province's children.
Alberta teachers held their largest rally ever yesterday at the legislature. It was intended to put pressure on the government to reinvest in education.
Photo: - Walter Tychnowicz, Sun
Several hundred busloads of teachers came from all over the province for the huge rally on the eve of World Teachers' Day, today.
The rally was intended to put pressure on the Ralph Klein government to reinvest surplus funds in education, which teachers say has been devastated by four years of cuts.
Figures released with the provincial budget in February show Alberta Education spent $2.87 billion in 1992-93, but only $2.73 billion in 1996-97. The province doesn't expect education funding to return to 1993 levels until next year.
As part of drastic public funding cuts to balance the provincial budget, public staff - including teachers - were forced to take a five per cent salary cut in 1993.
Calgary public school teachers are on the verge of a strike to win back the lost pay.
"We want Albertans to get the message that teachers can no longer hold together an excellent public education system under increasingly deteriorating conditions," said Mackay, as teachers chanted `Shame on Ralph.'
It's not only their salaries that teachers are worried about.
They're also complaining about special needs and handicapped students being placed in regular classrooms without teacher aides. The needs of those children take up so much time that teachers can't give their best to others, they say.
They also charge that class sizes have increased to unmanageable levels and shortages persist for equipment, supplies and books.
Alberta's teachers are not yet calling for a provincewide walkout as are their colleagues in Ontario. But Mackay urged Albertans to pressure the provincial government to increase education funding.
Education Minister Gary Mar did not respond to repeated requests for an interview regarding the teachers' rally. But Mar has labelled many of Mackay's concerns as "alarmist."
"Our kids are doing quite well in school," he said recently. "We've always said we are prepared to reinvest in targeted areas, but we are not going to increase spending across the board."
Earlier this week, provincial Treasurer Stockwell Day suggested millions of dollars in surplus funds could be made available to address problems in Alberta's education and health systems.
- With files from CP
