Kevin Taft is calling for a 3 year stop to school closures in Alberta:
School boards don't like that idea:The three-year hold would be in place while a Liberal government devises a full plan on converting under-used facilities into "community schools" which also offer public services throughout the day.
"Our belief is that schools play such an important role in our communities," Taft told supporters gathering on an off-day at a cattle auction market in the central Alberta town of Ponoka.
"And they need to be understood as more than just a place where children go for a few hours a day to learn. They should be resources for the entire community." (Ed Journal)
Heather Welwood, president of the Alberta School Boards Association, said a provincewide moratorium on school closures would limit the boards' ability to make decisions that are in the best educational interests of their students._____
"The school board's mandate is to provide an excellent public education for every child in their school division, and that's what they are given the resources to do," said Welwood, a trustee with the Bonnyville-based Northern Lights School Division.
"Anything that constrains, or puts rules in place that limit the school boards' ability to make decisions about their students aren't welcomed by local school boards.
"Moratoriums are not the answer, because there are times when there are tough decisions that have to be made, and it's too complex just to put a stop on it." (ibid)
Mentioned in article: Alberta School Boards Association
Posted by Leslie (for Jo)
