Wildrose: World-class education — Wildrose would improve funding for special needs students and mental health

A Wildrose government would increase supports for special needs students and boost
funding for mental health supports, Wildrose Leader Brian Jean announced today.
“With the Prentice PCs spurring on larger class sizes after years of neglect, it’s
critical we make sure we give proper support to special needs students and improve
mental health funding,” Jean said. “Our plan is realistic, affordable and ensures we give teachers, parents
and most importantly, students, the supports they need.”
The commitment is outlined in Standing Up for Albertans: Wildrose’s Five Priorities.
Currently, the Prentice PC plan reduces funding for special needs supports by 1.9
per cent, or roughly $7 million, putting classrooms and quality of education for
students at risk.
The increased funding for special needs students will be supplemented through $8
million saved by over budgeting the costs for scrapping school fees.
Under a Wildrose government, mental health programs will also get a boost through
reallocating $10 million of the almost $50 million spent by the PCs on curriculum
revision every year.