By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

Hopes for education

Chinook’s Edge wants to ensure education is a priority during election

Mar 30, 2019 | 4:15 PM

The Chinook’s Edge board of education is outlining what it hopes election candidates and voters alike will keep top of mind during the ongoing campaign.

“As elected Trustees with the Chinook’s Edge Board of Education, we are leading an initiative to ensure that Education is a priority discussion throughout the current provincial election process,” says Colleen Butler, board chair.

“Albertans will vote on April 16 for the party that will lead our province into the future. To us, this must include a vision that ensures adequate supports for the students and school communities we serve. We are keen to discover what each party’s Education platform is and what each candidate’s Education priorities are.”

The board lays out three crucial areas, the first being support for students in a rural context.

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It says with an annual transportation deficit around $800,000, the province must begin funding transportation based on actual kilometres.

It also questions the need for a proposed change which would require school bus drivers to complete a 53.5 hour training program. They say this could result in future driver shortages.

Second, the CESD board wants to talk about alleviating barriers to the delivery of inclusive education.

This includes streamlining the school readiness curriculum so that funds currently allotted to teachers for paperwork can instead go towards students.

They’d also like to see a cross-ministry approach towards funding for the unique programming offered by Horizon School, and others like it.

Third, the division has its eyes on ensuring safe and effective facilities. It would prefer to see funding allocated based on specific square footage of an actual building, as opposed to the number of students.

The board says its top infrastructure priorities include expansion of Carstairs ElementarySchool, a new 500 student capacity replacement for Penhold Elementary School, a new Grade 10-12 high school in Sylvan Lake, and a new 400 student school to replace Olds Elementary.