Education

Annual Report 2011-2012

CONTENTS

4 Preface 5 Minister's Accountability Statement 6 Message from the Minister 8 Management's Responsibility for Reporting 9

Results Analysis
10 12 13 14 15 18 80 Ministry Overview Review Engagement Report Performance Highlights Financial Highlights Performance Measures Summary Table Discussion and Analysis of Results Ministry Revenue and Expense by Function

85

Financial Information
86 87 89 Financial Information Contents Consolidated Financial Statements Independent Auditors Report

161 Other Information

163 168 169 215 Ministry Funding Provided to School Jurisdictions Statement of Remissions, Compromises, and Write-Offs Summary of School Jurisdictions Financial Information Alberta Teachers Retirement Fund Board Financial Statements

2011-2012 Education Annual Report

Preface

The Public Accounts of Alberta are prepared in accordance with the Financial Administration Act and the Government Accountability Act. The Public Accounts consist of the annual report of the Government of Alberta and the annual reports of each of the 21 ministries. The annual report of the Government of Alberta contains ministers accountability statements, the consolidated nancial statements of the province and Measuring Up report, which compares actual performance results to desired results set out in the governments strategic plan. On October 12, 2011, the government announced new ministry structures. The 2011-12 ministry annual reports and nancial statements have been prepared based on the October 12, 2011 ministry structure. This annual report of the Ministry of Education contains the ministers accountability statement, the audited consolidated financial statements of the ministry and a comparison of actual performance results to desired results set out in the ministry business plan. This ministry annual report also includes: the financial statements of entities making up the ministry including the Department of Education and the Alberta School Foundation Fund, for which the minister is responsible; the individual financial statements of the school jurisdictions presented in summary form as of their fiscal year end, August 31, 2011, in the Other Information section; other financial information as required by the Financial Administration Act and Government Accountability Act, either as separate reports or as a part of the financial statements, to the extent that the ministry has anything to report; and financial information relating to accountable organizations and trust funds, which includes the Alberta Teachers Retirement Fund and school jurisdictions in the public education system (public, separate and Francophone regional authorities and charter schools).

2011-2012 Education Annual Report

Ministers Accountability Statement

The ministrys annual report for the year ended March 31, 2012, was prepared under my direction in accordance with the Government Accountability Act and the governments accounting policies. All of the governments policy decisions as at June 8, 2012 with material economic or scal implications of which I am aware have been considered in the preparation of this report.

Original signed by Jeff Johnson Minister of Education

2011-2012 Education Annual Report

Message from the Minister

Every child in Alberta deserves an education of the highest quality, one that prepares them to be an engaged thinker, an ethical citizen, and hones their entrepreneurial spirit. That is the vision Albertans articulated through Inspiring Education two years ago, and it continues to guide our work today. To reach this vision, over the 2011-12 year Alberta Education worked collaboratively with education stakeholders, students, parents and communities to continue to effect change and evolve our education system, already among the top performing in the world. Your government invested strongly in education, devoting more than $6.4 billion to support Albertas 600,000 students, and an additional $107 million directly to address priorities in the classroom. As part of our ongoing commitment to inclusive education, we introduced new funding and programs to help families get access to the supports they need so that students, no matter their ability, disability, language, cultural background, gender or age, have what they need to succeed.We also provided new programming and dollars to schools so teachers had the training and tools they need to support all students. Education is about partnership, and our key partnership is with parents. Parents know their children best, and are the rst and most important teacher their child will ever have. To support parents, your government developed new tools to help them stay engaged in their childrens learning. My Childs Learning: A Parent Resource provides parents with information about curriculum and how their child might be assessed for every subject and grade level at school. We also recognize that parents also want information on how their schools are planning and performing, which is why we developed online fact sheets about school boards and charter schools, helping parents understand and make informed decisions about the educational opportunities available in their local communities. Schools are an important hub in the community, and last year your government built 7 new schools and modernized 12 others. We also announced over half a billion dollars in funding to build or renovate 35 more schools by 2014, and committed to a further 50 new schools and 70 modernizations over the next four years.

2011-2012 Education Annual Report

A number of other initiatives found new life after Inspiring Education, including a look at how we build curriculum. The learning experience of students depends on having high quality, engaging curriculum that helps bring out their interests and motivates them to learn more. This spring we worked with educators to begin to rene how we develop curriculum so it is meaningful for students and allows them to apply what they learn and build important competencies like critical thinking, problem solving and decision-making, creativity and innovation. Your government continues to work with our First Nations, Metis and Inuit communities to close the education gap and ensure this growing population of young people is able to reach their full potential. For example, a program aimed at increasing the number of First Nations, Metis and Inuit teachers is removing barriers so that more members of this community enter the teaching profession. In turn, these teachers will return to their communities to share their knowledge of Aboriginal histories, languages and traditions with students. While much of our work is ongoing, in 2011, we launched Our Children, Our Future: Getting it Right public consultations on the proposed Education Act. Students, parents, teachers and others were invited to participate in community forums or online to contribute their ideas to the proposed legislation. More than 13,000 Albertans participated in these forums, and while work on the Education Act continues, the level of engagement and interest in education continues to grow. This report highlights so many other examples of the work that has been done over the last year, far more than I could list here. In all these cases, we were guided by the vision set out by Albertans in Inspiring Education, and we will continue to do so. Our children deserve no less.

Original signed by Jeff Johnson Minister of Education

2011-2012 Education Annual Report

Management's Responsibility for Reporting

The Ministry of Education includes: the Department of Education the Alberta School Foundation Fund the Alberta school jurisdictions The executives of the individual entities within the Ministry have the primary responsibility and accountability for the respective entities. Collectively, the executives ensure the Ministry complies with all relevant legislation, regulations and policies. Ministry business plans, annual reports, performance results and the supporting management information are integral to the governments scal and strategic plan, annual report, quarterly reports and other nancial and performance reporting. Responsibility for the integrity and objectivity of the consolidated nancial statements and performance results for the Ministry rests with the Minister of Education. Under the direction of the Minister, I oversee the preparation of the Ministrys annual report, including consolidated nancial statements and performance results. The consolidated nancial statements and the performance results, of necessity, include amounts that are based on estimates and judgments. The consolidated nancial statements are prepared in accordance with Canadian public sector accounting standards. The performance measures are prepared in accordance with the following criteria: Reliability information used in applying performance measure methodologies agrees with underlying source data for the current and prior years results. Understandability the performance measure methodologies and results are presented clearly. Comparability the methodologies for performance measure preparation are applied consistently for the current and prior years results. Completeness goals, performance measures and related targets match those included in the Ministrys Budget 2011. As Deputy Minister, in addition to program responsibilities, I am responsible for the Ministrys nancial administration and reporting functions. The Ministry maintains systems of nancial management and internal control which give consideration to costs, benets, and risks that are designed to: provide reasonable assurance that transactions are properly authorized, executed in accordance with prescribed legislation and regulations, and properly recorded so as to maintain accountability of public money; provide information to manage and report on performance; safeguard the assets and properties of the Province under Ministry administration; provide Executive Council, the President of Treasury Board and Minister of Finance and the Minister of Education information needed to fulll their responsibilities; and facilitate preparation of Ministry business plans and annual reports required under the Government Accountability Act. In fullling my responsibilities for the Ministry, I have relied, as necessary, on the executives of the individual entities with the Ministry.

Original signed by Tim Wiles Deputy Minister of Education June 8, 2012

2011-2012 Education Annual Report