Airdrie’s need for more schools was a hot topic Thursday morning, when Wildrose Party Leader Danielle Smith announced her party’s commitment to Alberta education.

Smith stopped in at the Airdrie Public Library Feb. 2 to announce the party’s plan for Alberta students, should the Wildrose become the government after the next election. The education announcement was the second of five commitments the party is making on provincial issues.

“Parents keep telling us that they want their public education system to reflect their values and their interests on what’s best for their children,” Smith said. “They say that they’re tired of being dictated to when it comes to building new schools, hiring teachers and choosing what their children are taught in school.”

Smith said that if elected, her party would direct more money to the classroom, allocate more funds to building schools in communities that need them, focus on getting more teachers for classrooms, move away from standardized testing, and offer more support for special needs students.

“We will also equip schools and school boards with predictable funding to empower them to negotiate with and hire teachers based on local need,” Smith said. “This is a big part of our commitment – giving local school boards and principals the autonomy and the authority they need to meet the unique needs of the community.”

The need for more schools in the Airdrie community has been a pressing issue for more than two years. Last May, the PC government announced three new provincially-funded schools for Airdrie, but construction on the facilities has yet to begin.

Smith accused the current PC government of spending money on bonuses, salary increases to cabinet ministers and party retreats instead of on Albertans. She also said that in the past, the PC Party has built schools based on political reasons – choosing areas where the party thought it would be difficult to win seats – instead of based on need.

“The days of PC politicians playing games with the future of our children must come to an end,” Smith said. “Airdrie, along with other fast-growing communities, has been left behind by a decision-making process that is based on politics, not on need.

“This is resulted in some school boards with declining enrollment getting multiple schools, while communities like Airdrie are forced to cram kids into tiny portables or bus them into neighbouring communities.”

Smith said a Wildrose government would build schools where they are needed most. She also committed to giving parents more choice in selecting curriculum teaching methods.

“Parents know how to raise and educate their kids best, and they deserve more options to choose what is right for their family without having to pay more for it,” Smith said.

She also stated that her party hopes to move away from the traditional model of Provincial Achievement Tests and create a testing method that tracks student progress and identifies potential learning challenges on an ongoing basis.

“I believe this commitment to parents on education represents a departure from the centralized ‘government-knows-best’ approach of the PC Party,” she said. “It represents a new direction on education, where decisions are made by those closest to parents and the students they will impact the most.”