The impact of Alberta’s new carbon tax will be felt directly in the classroom and add pressure to students already facing long commutes in crowded buses, the Elk Island public school board is warning.
Trina Boymook, chair of Elk Island Public Schools, said the carbon tax on fuel will cost the district an additional $400,000 this year, and even more when the tax is increased further in 2018.
“We have over 9,000 students on school buses, and this will be a significant cost or impact to school boards,” said Boymook.
Boymook said some students are already spending 90 minutes commuting to school each way. Some buses may have to be taken out of service to compensate for the additional costs.
Trina Boymook predicts students will face longer commutes on crowded buses because of the impact of the carbon levy. (Elk Island Public Schools)
“Having three to a seat, long ride times, what will this will do for behaviours on the bus?” she asked.
The Elk Island board took its concerns to the Alberta School Boards Association (ASBA) this spring. It received the support of 92 cent of member boards for a motion that school boards be fully rebated on the cost of the carbon levy.
ASBA president Helen Clease said the carbon tax will hit all school boards. But it will be felt especially hard in rural areas, where transportation eats up a sizable portion of budgets, and enrolment is declining in some regions.
“It becomes a major issue because you still have to transport children no matter how far they are, or if the bus is full or not. It still costs the same amount,” Clease said.
In 2013, after the cancellation of a fuel price contingency fund for school boards, Elk Island was forced to take 15 buses off the road, said Boymook. The board suddenly found itself out $700,000 in funding.
Clease said others boards are also still trying to recover from the loss of the contingency fund.
Alberta School Boards Association president Helen Clease says the new carbon levy will have an impact on every school board in Alberta. (ASBA)
“It’s an individual school board story,” said Clease, “but I guarantee you there will be impacts at every school.”
Pointing out how little schools receive for transportation costs, Boymook said the funding schools receive for diesel doesn’t come close to the actual costs.
“For school buses, we’re funded at 60 cents a litre,” she said. “I’m not sure who’s paying 60 cents anymore for diesel.”
The Alberta carbon tax, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2017, adds an extra 4.5 cents per litre at the pump for gasoline and 5.4 cents for diesel.
Propane will cost 3.1 cents more per litre, while the price of natural gas will see an increase of $1.01 per gigajoule.
While individual consumers and families will be eligible for rebates to offset the higher costs, schools and other organizations won’t get any reprieve.
Province pressed to exempt schools
That’s something Boymook hopes will change. She and other school boards have been meeting with Education Minister David Eggen to argue for assistance. She said she hopes the province will reconsider its position and grant exemptions for schools.
The ASBA wrote to Eggen in May asking that all schools be exempt from the carbon levy. Helen Clease said they will continue to press the minister.
Larissa Liepins, spokesperson for Eggen, said in an email the government is “actively engaged with school boards across Alberta to discuss the impacts of the carbon price.” Liepins noted the provincial budget allocated $645 million toward a new energy-efficiency program for organizations and schools.
Elk Island is one of the largest school districts in Alberta, serving a mix of urban and rural communities in 42 schools.
Edmonton Public Schools is awaiting data from transportation companies to determine how much an impact the new carbon tax will have on its funding.