Calgary Your essential daily news | Wednesday, June 15, 2016
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Carbon tax will cost $1M in 2017, says school board Education
Expert panel to examine impact on schools, charities Lucie Edwardson
Metro | Calgary
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The Calgary Board of Education said the NDP’s new carbon tax levy is going to cost them nearly $1 million in the 2016-2017 school year — taking money from an already cash-strapped budget. While presenting highlights to the upcoming school year’s budget, CBE chief financial officer Brad Grundy said the carbon tax is a “cost driver,” that’s “largely beyond our control.” “The provincial government is implementing a carbon tax. Given our more than 200 facilities we are estimating the impact of that to be just over $650,000,” he said. “We estimate a further $300,000 impact for our transportation program.” Grundy said as of Tuesday, the CBE understands there will be no help from
Alberta Education to cover these new costs and the CBE will have to absorb them with the budget they have He said the money spent on the carbon tax is simply “dollars out the door.” “I would observe that the cost of a teacher is probably around $115,000 range, so this is the equivalent to about eight teachers,” said Grundy. Environment and Parks Minister Shannon Phillips said an expert panel will be examining the impact the carbon tax has on schools, charities and other public institutions. “They’ll provide us with some advice on the right programs to reduce their costs and therefore their emissions,” she said. Grundy said he hopes to see the money come back to school boards to invest in green projects within CBE when the government’s investments start to pay off — which Phillips said is the plan. “We’re committed to ensuring we have the right advice and information to ensure that at full implementation, school boards and others have the right tools to reduce their emissions.”