(Red Deer Public Schools)

By rdnewsNOW staff

with students returning this fall...

Red Deer Public Schools concerned over cost of COVID-19 measures

Jul 30, 2020 | 5:12 PM

On the heels of last week’s announcement from the province that students will return to schools under near normal circumstances this fall, concerns remain for the Board of Trustees for Red Deer Public Schools.

Trustees met with senior administration this week to review plans for back to school following the July 21 announcement that students will return to school for regular classes five days a week, with health guidelines in place.

“While we know that students, parents and staff are eager to get back to school, there are many questions on how we can ensure the health and safety for all,” Board Chair Nicole Buchanan said in a release. “That’s why we met–to get the assurance that we are doing all that we can. We also know the pandemic is dynamic and that we are going to keep our plans current and up-to-date as the situation evolves.”

Knowing that students and staff will return to school under near normal operations with health guidelines in place on Sept. 1, the Board of Trustees reviewed and asked questions about division plans – wanting assurance that the health and well-being of students and staff are being well taken care of.

Red Deer Public Schools says it will indeed follow the guidelines developed by the Chief Medical Officer of Health and Alberta Education for schools will need to operate in the fall. The main concern for the district, though, is how it will cost them.

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“The pandemic has created significant fiscal uncertainty for the 2020 – 21 school year. The provincial government has provided no money to specifically address COVID-19 and the costs will likely be significant,” said Buchanan. “As it stands, we need to cover those expenses within our existing budget, which is already stretched given the new provincial funding framework. We are going to be tracking those numbers to understand the full cost and implications and will report those to our community.”

Buchanan added, “This is a significant concern of the Board and school jurisdictions across the province, not only this year, but the impact it will have on our future as well.”

The division will be emailing parents next week to address the concerns and questions they have about returning to school this fall.

“Included in that will be a video outlining the measures we are taking to prepare our schools,” Buchanan shared. “We will have complete information on our website outlining plans we have for reentry. We will also be surveying our parents to confirm their intentions for students coming back to school so we can plan accordingly.”

“The best learning takes place in the classroom and we are excited to get back to regular teaching and learning,” added Chad Erickson, Superintendent of Schools. “Having said that we need to do all that we can to address the many issues affecting schools during the pandemic. Throughout the year, we will continually monitor situations and adapt as needed to ensure our students and staff are healthy and well.”