“It just feels like we’re unfairly caught up in petty politics, and we’re not putting kids first on this one and that’s through no fault of our own”
According to a report by Edmonton Public Schools, the division contracts the City of Edmonton as its election administrator and pays 29 per cent of total election costs associated with planning and delivering the elections for trustees. Edmonton Elections projected an additional $1.69 million in costs for the division in the 2025 municipal election.
“This has been downloaded onto us at a time where we’re trying to recover from a disastrous funding formula that now we’re spending an additional $1.6 million — $3.6 million more than what we spent in 2021,” Estabrooks said.
“It just feels like we’re unfairly caught up in petty politics, and we’re not putting kids first on this one and that’s through no fault of our own.”
Board anticipating a $5.25 million cost for the municipal election
The Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act 2024 makes changes to two pieces of municipal-related legislation that stipulate how municipalities govern local elections — the Local Authorities Elections Act (LAEA) and the Municipal Government Act (MGA). The new rules will come into effect on Oct. 31, meaning they will impact the next municipal election in 2025.
The board is anticipating a total cost of $5.25 million for the 2025 municipal election compared to the $1.63 million the division spent during the 2021 municipal election.
“The projected costs account for four times the number of ballots and ballot boxes as originally planned,” the report said.
Concerns over maintaining 3.2 per cent annual threshold
The division can spend a maximum of 3.2 per cent on administrative costs per year, and some trustees are concerned about how the board will keep to that threshold with the increased anticipated costs.
Superintendent Darrel Robertson said the board has some additional resources to commit to the $1.69 million increase but it is not sustainable.
“We do currently have some additional resources to commit to this change, but that’s not sustainable in the long term. We do have to have a conversation about the impact of the legislation change on funding for education and election costs,” Robertson said.
Division staff are meeting with Edmonton Elections staff monthly to ensure all efficiencies are found to avoid unexpected costs with respect to the new regulations, Robertson said. The division intends to communicate with the province the increased costs and impacts on their ability to maintain their administrative costs threshold.