I sincerely appreciate how passionate everyone is about the need for a new public school in Morinville, but the way most people have gone about expressing that passion leaves a lot to be desired.
I should be up-front about the fact I most definitely have a dog in this race; my oldest daughter is a student at Morinville Public Elementary School, and her little sister will join her in 2017.
On the mornings I drop her off at class, I see firsthand how crowded that school is. It’s not surprising to me the school had to add six modular classrooms this year, with another nine planned for installation over the summer. When people say that school is bursting at the seams, they’re not kidding.
A new public school in Morinville is overdue, and no one’s debating that.
What is being debated, and in a way that’s unproductive and unhelpful, is where, when, how and if this school will be built.
This issue came to a head two weeks ago when the school division sent a letter home to parents explaining the situation. Challenges with the proposed site for the Grade 5 to 9 school related to the uncertainty around the site, much of which results from the town’s uncertainty around the future of the arena and other land-use planning considerations, means the process has been put on hold indefinitely.
Not an ideal situation, and the finger pointing promptly continued with a letter from the school council chair to local newspapers laying the blame at the feet of the town council and administration.
Town council responded in kind at its Feb. 9 meeting. The message from Mayor Lisa Holmes, which was echoed by the six councillors one by one, essentially amounts to, “We need to work together and stop pointing fingers. Especially the school division, they’re pointing fingers the worst.” The tone from councillors was at best unhelpful and at worst, downright confrontational.
Then, in a move that belies an apparent misunderstanding of a municipal council’s role, Holmes announced council had contacted the province about setting up a temporary school site adjacent to the proposed building site to serve students in 2017.
The roles are fairly clear: a municipality must provide a serviced site for a new school, and the school board is in charge of the school’s construction. By circumventing the Sturgeon School Division’s elected board and going right to the province with a plan – and not even consulting the school board on that plan – councillors haven’t exactly helped to foster the spirit of co-operation they claim to seek.
Fortunately for parents and students, representatives from both elected boards are scheduled to meet with Education Minister David Eggen today, Feb. 17, and will hold a joint council/board meeting shortly thereafter.
Here’s hoping Eggen can help get them back on track to focus on educating children instead of acting like them.
They certainly all have the best of intentions, but they’ll all have a lot to answer for come the next municipal election in October 2017.
