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Joanne Wiens doesn't live in Ontario, but she's still closely watching the election debate that has erupted in that province over faith-based school funding.

Ms. Wiens, principal of the Menno Simons Christian School in Calgary, said it's a shame that her counterparts in Ontario "have to struggle" with no public funding."

"They are good schools with good students and teachers who all just want to do what's good for the kids," she said. "And if that's not the basis of doing things, then there's an issue."

Since 1988, the Alberta government has allowed school boards to decide whether to fully fund "alternative programs" such as faith-based schools. Private schools, including religious institutions, are also eligible for up to 60-per-cent funding from the government for operating costs if they teach the provincial curriculum.

However, while Alberta has had a long history of financially supporting religious schools - mainly Christian - the issue is still contentious in some corners of the province.

Ms. Wiens knows that first-hand. Her 24-year-old school, which has 184 students and employs 14 teachers, tried several times to persuade the Calgary Board of Education to recognize and fund it. However, the public school board has a policy against supporting faith-based programs.

A legal battle ensued last year after Menno Simons and another private Christian school in Calgary joined a public school board in eastern Alberta. (Provincial funding for school boards is based on enrolment numbers.)

Earlier this year, Alberta's highest court rejected the Calgary Board of Education's appeal that the Lethbridge-based Palliser Regional Schools overstepped its jurisdiction by poaching the two schools. The Calgary board has since asked the province to clarify the rules for school boards surrounding this controversial issue.

Ted Flitton, a spokesman for the Calgary board, said there are no plans to lift its ban on funding religious schools. "We think to teach one religion over another is essentially prioritizing," he said. "It's a multicultural world. Kids need to understand there are various perspectives on life, on ethics, that sort of thing."