metronews.ca Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Edmonton Pride Festival
More history needed on city’s queer community: Project members
STEPHANIE DUBOIS/METRO
Archival info is limited on the city’s queer community history, say project members. CONTRIBUTED
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EPSB proposes more teaching positions Education. 339 fulltime teaching positions cut last year; same number proposed to be added this year
NEWS
With the 34th year of the Edmonton Pride Festival set to wrap up Sunday, some Edmontonians want to keep the spirit alive through a local history venture. Called Edmonton Queer History project, project members are collecting archival photos, interviews and other memorabilia marking the history of Edmonton’s pride community since there are holes in the archival information. “There’s very little documented queer history in the City of Edmonton pre-1990 (...) and we’re concerned about losing that history as people age and pass away,” said Kristopher Wells, main organizer of the Institute for Sexual Minority Studies and Services-led project. Next year’s Pride celebrations marks 35 years, with the group members wanting Edmontonians to “remember the past and chart the future,” said Wells. Group members are asking Edmontonians to share their Pride memorabilia as part of the project by emailing EdmontonQueerHistoryProject@gmail.com.
NEWS
LEAH GERMAIN
leah.germain@metronews.ca
Edmonton’s public school district will consider adding 339 full-time teaching positions back to its staffing roster after cutting the same number last year. At an EPSB meeting Tuesday, the district trustees reviewed a proposed $1 billion budget for the 2014-2015 public school year, which board chairperson Sarah Hoffman called status quo. After cutting 339 full-time equivalent positions in last year’s budget, the district is looking to bring back 119 fulltime certified staff and 220 fulltime non-certified staff. “The reason we are able to do that is we have more kids coming,” Hoffman said about the new teaching positions. “I don’t want anyone to think we can drastically cut class sizes.” The district is expecting a 2.6 per cent enrolment increase next year — approximately 88,793 students in 202 public schools — while only working with a 2 per cent funding increase from the province. To address a funding shortfall, EPSB will be accessing $13.8 million in reserve operating funds to keep the budget balanced.
The Edmonton Public School Board chairperson Sarah Hoffman called the district’s proposed $1 billion budget “status quo.” METRO FILE
Hoffman said the budget reflects EPSB values, but it isn’t sustainable accessing surplus funds. “I’m glad we had a cushion this year, because we need it,” she added. Along with new teaching positions, the latest budget also includes a change to the First Nations, Metis and Inuit allocation, by hiring four specialized FNMI consultants at a cost of $450,000. Approximately $750,000 has also been set aside for security cameras at elementary schools. The board will vote on the budget June 24.
Decrease in provincial funding...
Bus fees increase for public school students Public school students will be paying a higher price for bus passes next year, after the city’s public school board approved an increase to transportation fees.
Edmonton Public School Board approved an 11 per cent increase for the $27 pass and a 14.6 per cent increase for the $48 pass, leaving parents to now pay $30 and $55 respectively. After keeping the fees the same price for the last four years, the district had to up the costs following a decrease in provincial funding and to accommodate the demand in new neighbourhoods.
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