As the provincial government continues to choke off funding to public schools, in favor of private schools, it is pushing school boards across the province into the arms of its corporate business allies.

Schools have increased all forms of fund raising and user fees to offset this lack of provincial funding. Increasingly now all school boards and schools are being forced to consider corporate partnerships.

Last month the Edmonton Public School Board held four public hearings on the issue. It also issued a questionnaire to school councils, selected individuals and various corporations and business organizations. It did not issue any questionnaires to unions or Labour organizations!

The public meetings and questionnaires were designed to elicit positive responses to the Boards plans to expand its use of corporate partnerships and fundraising. The board designed the questions with selective information, and failed to note that last year a survey of the community showed that 64% of Edmontonians were opposed to corporations in schools. Information on what the school boards unionized employees (members of CUPE and the ATA) opinions were on this issue, strongly opposed of course, were suspiciously absent.

The first public meeting was a fiasco, with only nine people in attendance, including one reporter from the Edmonton Journal (a current corporate partner with the board). It appeared that the board had learned the lesson that if it held public meetings, no matter how poor the turn out, it could justify a policy promoting corporate partnerships by claiming to have 'consulted'. This is a common practice of the Alberta government, remember last fall's Growth Summit.

Outraged at the boards attempt to get its 'unofficial' policy shoved through with supposed 'public' approval, CUPE Local 474, Edmonton Public schools custodial workers union, launched a campaign to mobilize the community and Labour movement to oppose the boards plans.

The local faxed meeting dates to a wide variety of organizations and individuals. It issued several press releases saying the "Our Children are not For Sale".

The local made sure that people attended the next three public hearings, and managed to get good media coverage out of at least one. Of course the attendance improved, however much to the boards chagrin the overwhelming majority of those in attendance were opposed to increasing corporate partnerships, were critical of the fact the board presentations were rigged to get the answers they wanted, and demanded that the board do more to pressure the government to fully fund public education.

Members of Local 474 made presentations at all the meetings pointing out that the board had been looking at this for over a year now and still had not developed a code of conduct policy or a conflict of interest policy. The local challenged the board to adopt these policies before even considering further corporate sponsorships. The local was also critical of the endless fund raising and charity event schools were holding. In their budget brief to the Board in the spring the local pointed out that funds raised through charity donations were not accounted for in individual school budgets!

The local made it clear that business partnerships in schools would be made an election issue and any attempt to push it through before the fall municipal election would be opposed by the Labour movement.

The local further challenged the board that if it needed money it should hold a plebiscite in the fall, for a mill rate increase of up to 3%. Such an increase would eliminate any need for corporate involvement in schools.

This issue is not isolated to Edmonton, but affects school districts across the province.

"The Labour movement in Alberta needs to make this an issue in the upcoming fall elections, says Doug Luellman, President of CUPE Local 474.

"We have called for a plebiscite in Edmonton. In Calgary the public school teacher's local of the ATA are also pushing for a plebiscite. The Labour movement in Alberta needs to push for a mill rate plebiscite for school boards this fall. Without fully funded public education your children will be sold to the highest bidder!"