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Divergent views on budget expressed by Red Deer school boards

Red Deer’s two school board chairs have opposite views on the provincial budget.
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(Advocate file photo.)

Red Deer’s two school board chairs have opposite views on the provincial budget.

Public school board chair Bev Manning was disappointed per-pupil grants remain frozen since 2012. “Considering how much costs have risen… we are going backwards.”

Manning predicted more split classes and “nickel and dime-ing” to try to keep resources in the classroom.

Although teacher hiring will be hard, she was glad the government committed to providing per-pupil grants for new students added to the roster.

Anne Marie Watson, chair of the Red Deer Catholic Regional School board, wasn’t critical of the grant freeze, saying that her growing district can manage through additional funding accompanying new students.

The budget is “good news,” said Watson, who’s also glad to see a small boost to extra funding distributed according to special student needs.

The only problem she foresees is running out of space in some schools.

Her district wants build a new middle school and a K-5 school in Red Deer, while the public district seeks a Grades 6-8 school in the Timberstone area.

A project list will be released on Friday, March 23.



lmichelin@reddeeradvocate.com

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