New Schools are One Step Closer

Airdrie and Chestermere are one step closer to the announcement we are all hoping for – that our communities will receive three new schools to help us cope with our recent spike in population thereby ensuring our children have the same quality educational opportunities as their peers across Alberta.

I was very happy to hear the Premier’s commitment last week to the Mayor, School Board Trustees and other community leaders, that the new schools should be announced this year once the budget is passed in April. This same promise was all but guaranteed in the Legislature last November by the Minister of Education in response to my questions and the presentation of Ms. Leah Moore’s powerful petition.

Although I clearly haven’t been a supporter of the majority of the PCs policies these past few years, I am grateful that they have recognized a gross oversight by the previous Education Minister, Ron Liepert, and are prepared to build the handful of critically needed schools vital to our communities’ continued success. These schools would have been built much sooner had, prior to the last election, decisions on where to build a package of new schools been made using an objective needs based analysis, rather than a political calculation; however, we are unable to turn back the clock and now that a correction is being made, I believe it is time to move forward.

Because these new schools will take at least 2 years to build from the time they are announced, we will have to pull together as a community to positively deal what will be a very overcrowded next couple of years in our schools – but I know, with the leadership of our current School Trustees, we can and will do exactly that.

I ask that parents, teachers and community leaders continue to write letters, make phone calls and attend events in support of these new schools. We need to keep the pressure up and the importance of this project on the radar of Government. I will, of course, continue to do my part at the Legislature in this regard, and furthermore, will request the Government publicly disclose their priority list for schools province-wide as well as their objective criteria for arriving at that priority. Doing this will ensure what happened to Airdrie and Chestermere won’t be repeated here or in other communities in future years.

Although declaring total success for our communities is still premature at this point, it is safe to say we are one step closer to the arrival of our new schools…and for the reasons why we’re now so close, most of you need only look in the mirror. As a parent of four little boys, and as your MLA, thanks to each and every one of you that have contributed to bringing us closer to achieving our goal.