The Community
Press Telling your story
Volume 112, Issue 33
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
Hardisty residents pack school gym for BRSD meeting
$1 Including GST
New education funding model announcement from Province Whether it will save local schools remains to be seen
Leslie Cholowsky Editor
Around 200 people came to Allan Johnstone School on Wednesday, Feb. 12, to hear a presentation from the Battle River School Division (BRSD) regarding the board's decision to consider closing the school after the 2019-20 school year. Norm Erickson, Trustee and Board Chairman, started the evening off by introducing the rest of the board. “Why are we
even having this conversation?” he asked. “Our school division is facing big challenges. We can see that populations are down and that there are also students leaving our division. We need to find solutions - viable ways to provide the most opportunities for the students we have.” Erickson told the crowd, “School closure is not pleasant. It's not something we want to do, or even entertain. Because, regardless of how you feel about school closure, all of us – and I
mean everyone in this room – cares deeply about our rural communities and about children, and that’s why we’re here. We are all rural people, from rural roots, and I can 100 per cent guarantee that every one in this room wishes we did not have to.” He urged all participants to keep the night's dialogue respectful; “We are here to talk about Allan Johnstone School (AJS) and the students and what's best for them.” See HARDISTY P8
ALLY ANDERSON PHOTO
Cutter Rally organizers from the Sedgewick Ag. Society were happy that even after a cold-weather cancellation in 2019, resuming their annual event this Saturday, Feb. 15, brought out a good number of entries, including a pair all the way from Kinderslie. The temperature wasn’t too bad, but a brisk wind had riders and passengers bundling up for the ride. Published weekly in Killam & Sedgewick, Alberta www.thecommunitypress.com
Serving Flagstaff County and Surrounding areas for over 111 years
Leslie Cholowsky Editor
Alberta Education announced a new funding model for Alberta’s kindergarten through Grade 12 education system on Tuesday, Feb. 18, which they say streamlines operations and directs more dollars to each school division. “In the 2020-21 school year, every single division will see an increase in operational funding,” the province said in its announcement. One of the biggest changes for determining funding is a change from a one-year enrollment figure by a certain date to a “moving three-year average,” minimizing the need for mid-year adjustments to school budgets, like the one that caught Battle River School Division off guard with $1.6 million less in funding than budgeted for the previous spring. Minister of Education Adriana LaGrange says, “Alberta will continue to have one of the bestfunded education systems in the country. “This new model will drive more money to our school divisions for use in the classroom and provides them with the flexibility they need to meet the unique needs of their
students. “These changes will ensure our divisions continue to be equipped to provide our students with a world-class, high-quality education.” The new model also gives school divisions more flexibility to determine how to best invest taxpayer dollars, it says in the funding announcement. The overall number of grants available to schools will be reduced from 36 to 15, not by deleting grants, but by combining and simplifying them. “School divisions will have reduced reporting obligations and more leeway to direct funding to support the needs of students.” System administration funding will now come from a targeted grant, instead of a percentage of overall funding, which will standardize administrative and governance spending to within a reasonable range, and is intended to maximize dollars intended for classrooms. Funding will be provided to support specialized learning needs or groups of students who may require additional supports, including program unit funding, funding for English as a second language stud See FUNDING P17
Funded by the Government of Canada