Still no deal for Alberta teachers as school year comes to a close
As the school year comes to an end for many Calgary students, negotiations between the Alberta Teachers' Association (ATA) and the province remains in limbo.
Earlier this month, the ATA released the results of a strike vote, showing 94.5 per cent of teachers were in favour of striking.
Nearly 39,000 teachers voted virtually between June 5 and 8.
Only 1,522 voted against strike action.
According to ATA president Jason Schilling, the latest deal teachers were offered was turned down for a variety of reasons
'They didn't think that it went far enough in terms of addressing working conditions, class size, the complexity of the students needs that we have in our classrooms, but also for wages as well,' he said.
In terms of class sizes, for the 2012-13 academic year, there was an average of 19.4 students per Kindergarten through Grade 3, 23.5 students for Grades 4 to 6, 24.7 for Grades 7 to 9 and 26.1 for Grades 10 to 12, according to the ATA.
The province stopped collecting class sizes in the fall of 2019.
The ATA says it has continued to try to track the numbers.
'Since then, we have seen our classrooms explode in terms of the number of students in our schools,' Schilling said. 'Our latest pulse survey showed 69 per cent of teachers indicating their class sizes are larger than last year, with 40 per cent of respondents indicating they had more than 30 students in their classes.'
'Of those who responded to the pulse survey (in 2025) 90 percent have seen an increase to the complexity of their students needs while also reporting a 58 per cent decrease to the resources to support students with special needs.'
In the deal that was struck down by ATA, the province committed more than $400 million in classroom improvements, which would have started this fall.
That deal also included 12 per cent increase in wages over four years.
Taking a look at numbers, wages have fallen well below inflation.
A teacher with six years of university experience entering their first year with the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) would have made $64,905 entering the 2012-13 academic year.
The latest school grid on the CBE's website for a teacher with the same education and experience was $68,995 for the 2023-24 academic year.
The deal rejected by the ATA members would have included a three per cent increase retroactive for the 2024-24 academic year, and a three per cent increase for the 2025-26 academic year.
The $64,905 salary a first-year teacher with six years of university education was paid in 2012-13 would now be valued at $87,337 when adjusted for inflation, according to the bank of Canada.
After inflation, the now-rejected deal would have provided that same teacher $73,196.
The deal also included a grid harmonization which could result in a further five per cent wage increase, depending on the teachers' current wage grid.
'Teachers have received essentially a six per cent raise over the last 12 years,' Schilling said. 'There has been a loss of purchasing power to inflation and they're looking to make gains in terms of that as well.'
In response to the ongoing negotiations between the province and ATA, Alberta's Minister for Finance and president of Treasury Board Nate Horner issued the following statement:
'Since the ATA teacher strike vote, nothing has changed.
The ATA (Alberta Teachers Association) was offered a fair deal, made in good-faith and I am disappointed that the ATA members did not accept the mediator's recommendation for a four-year agreement.
Education remains a top priority of this government.
Budget 2025 contained one of the largest budget increases ever for K-12 education, bringing the total spending over $10 billion.'
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