Alberta independent schools are currently being targeted — but is it with good cause?Well, the answer might require a bit of consideration.A citizens' initiated petition was approved in October, asking Albertans, "Should the Government of Alberta end its current practice of allocating public funds to accredited independent (private) schools?"The petition applicant, Alicia Taylor, has until February 11, 2026, to collect 177,732 signatures for it to become a potential referendum question.In Taylor's description of her proposal, she writes, "diverting public funds back into public schools would help alleviate some of the funding shortages that public schools have been experiencing.".So — is this true?Or could public funds be better served somewhere else?For one, putting the money used for independent schools back into the public school system could actually cost taxpayers more.In Alberta there are over 370 independent schools, which serve around 56,194 students.On average, public schools receive $13,000 per student, while private schools receive half — $6,500.The rest of private school funding comes from tuition fees and/or fundraising.According to a 2019 report by the Canadian Taxpayer Federation and Parents for Choice in Education (PCE), $1.2 billion was saved by taxpayers over eight years, because parents sent their kids to independent schools. .When it comes to affordability — there's a fair amount of a difference in the average income families in public and independent schools make.According to a study done in 2017 by the Fraser Institute, public school families' after-tax income was $97,301, while independent school families' income was $130,127 — a 34% difference.However, this does not tell the whole story.When elite independent school families' income is removed, non-elite independent school families' after-tax income was, on average, $95,549 — 2% less than the average income of public schools.The facts undermine the myth independent schools are only attended by well-off families. .According to the study, 82% of independent schools were classified as "non-elite" which accounts for families with the an average of $95,549 income.As the PCE explains, "The reality is that many of these families make considerable financial sacrifices to cover the extra costs — on top of the regular education taxes they pay — in order to access an education option where their children are thriving.""These school communities also often invest extra time and energy into fundraising initiatives to provide support lower income families."As for what these independent schools provide that public schools do not — religious choice, extracurricular activities, specific teaching methods, or rigorous learning environments. ."Certain independent schools specialize in areas like arts, sciences, sports, or vocational training, catering to students with specific interests and talents," stated the Association of Independent Schools and Colleges Alberta (AISCA).Stripping public support away from independent schools would mean excluding many who could not afford independent schools without public support.This, as the PCE points out, "by eliminating funding support, the ATA and others would actually create the very outcome they claim to want to prevent — a two-tier education system where only the wealthy can still afford education choice and no one else can.""We should be extremely concerned by anyone who suggests that public purse strings be used as a means of coercion to enforce a one-size-fits-all government-run approach to education for all children and their families." ."To suggest that only some educational choices are 'valid' is to say that the needs and values of some people are worthy of taxpayer support - and others are not.""This premise undermines and fundamentally corrupts the functioning of a pluralistic, multicultural and free society," stated the PCE.
