Education

Annual Report 2012-2013

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 86 Ministry Overview Review Engagement Report Performance Highlights Financial Highlights Performance Measures Summary Table Discussion and Analysis of Results Ministry Revenue and Expense by Function

91

Financial Information
92 93 95 Financial Information Contents Consolidated Financial Statements Independent Auditors Report

171 Other Information

173 178 179 225 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

2012-2013 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 18 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 May 18, 2012, the government announced new ministry structures. The 2012-13 ministry annual reports and nancial statements have been prepared based on the new 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, 2012, 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).

2012-2013 Education Annual Report

Ministers Accountability Statement

The ministrys annual report for the year ended March 31, 2013, 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 7, 2013 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

2012-2013 Education Annual Report

Message from the Minister

A strong province relies on healthy families and communities. Albertas education system is a cornerstone of those communities. This year was one of transformation; and I am proud of the work of the ministry and all of our partners in the eld. In this Report you will nd measures of our stated business objectives. Im proud to tell you that this year; we met or exceeded our targets on all but one of these objectives. Alberta Education is playing an important role in working to achieve a stronger Alberta. Across government, we are implementing a comprehensive overall plan to Build Alberta which: Invests in families and communities, including the new roads, schools and health facilities our growing province needs; Ensures we live within our means, by challenging every dollar the government spends and making sure every program continues to deliver real results for people; and Builds new markets for all our resources so we get the fairest price and we protect the jobs and prosperity Albertans depend on. Alberta Education is putting the Building Alberta Plan into action through the vision of Inspiring Education. Inspiring Education is a vision for an education system that is student-focused and where values of opportunity, fairness, citizenship, choice, diversity and excellence are embraced and celebrated.Inspiring Education identies the competencies of a successful Albertan an engaged thinker and ethical citizen with an entrepreneurial spirit and lays the groundwork for how to promote those values in our youth and the learning community. Our condence in the ability of our students to excel on a world stage is based in part on the success theyve already achieved. Alberta is home to one of the worlds best education systems, where students regularly achieve academic and personal excellence. In mathematics, science and reading literacy, Alberta students are among the best and their results are better than international averages. Our students excel because they have great teachers. In 2012-13, 87 per cent of parents were satised with the quality of teaching at their childs school, and 97 per cent of all high school students agreed that their teachers are knowledgeable about the subjects they teach. I am committed to ensuring all students have fair and equitable access to services no matter where they live or go to school. This year, we developed and implemented a new funding model to address the unique needs of rural Alberta and to ensure all students are supported to achieve success. We continue to consult with our stakeholders, sharing best practices and developing resources for boards and teachers.

2012-2013 Education Annual Report

Albertas population is growing and demographics are changing, which means we need new and improved schools. This year, with Premier Alison Redfords leadership, we completed 15 new schools across the province and committed to a further 50 new schools and 70 modernizations over the next three years. A major milestone in 2012-13 was the passing of the Education Act. The Education Act replaces the School Act of 1988 and brings to life the vision for education that thousands of Albertans shared with us through Inspiring Education. The new legislation shifts the focus from the school and the system to the student. It contains some of Canadas most effective and proactive anti-bullying legislation and acknowledges our partnership approach of parents, students, teachers, administrators and trustees working together to make schools welcoming, caring, respectful and safe places for everyone. The Education Act will come into force in time for the 2015-16 school year, once a regulatory review and policy review have been completed and boards have had a chance to align their own policies and procedures. International and intergovernmental relationships are extremely important. This year, we continued to develop and maintain alliances with the Council of Education, Canada (CMEC) to advance Albertas agenda and protect our interests. I was honoured to be selected to represent the provinces and territories at the fth Education Ministerial Meeting in Korea, and am looking forward to taking over the chair of CMEC this fall. We will continue to work with First Nations, Mtis and Inuit (FNMI) communities to close the existing achievement gap and ensure all students reach their full potential. An all-party working group is developing a long term strategic plan to restructure First Nations education in Alberta. Informed by expert options and recommendations, the plan will lay out First Nation, federal and provincial roles and responsibilities to eliminate gaps in funding, programs, services, legislation and policies that affect the success of First Nations students. The plan will include strategies for the sharing of expertise, and ways to maximize existing programs and resources to ensure improved accountability and efciency in First Nations education. Although we have a lot to be proud of, were working hard to make sure our system and our students are ready for what the future holds. I would like to thank our stakeholders teachers, school boards, students, and parents for their continued passion and commitment to delivering excellent education. Over the next year, Im looking forward to making more progress on making Inspiring Education come to life. I am dedicated to ensuring that with every decision we make, we are putting our kids rst.

Original signed by Jeff Johnson Minister of Education

2012-2013 Education Annual Report

Management's Responsibility for Reporting

The Ministry of Education includes: the Alberta School Foundation Fund the Department of Education 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 agrees with underlying data and the sources used to prepare it. Understandability and Comparability current results are presented clearly in accordance with the stated methodology and are comparable with previous results. Completeness performance measures and targets match those included in Budget 2012. 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 Greg Bass Deputy Minister of Education June 7, 2013

2012-2013 Education Annual Report