The city will be asking the three local school boards to amend the school site allocation agreement so council has the final say when it comes to selecting school sites.
The city will be asking the three local school boards to amend the school site allocation agreement so council has the final say when it comes to selecting school sites.
City council voted 4-3 to have city staff draft an amendment to the agreement that governs how school sites in St. Albert are assigned. The move came as St. Albert Public is set to vote on leaving the agreement at a meeting on Wednesday night.
Currently the school site allocation committee, which consists of designates from each of the three school boards and the city – appointed by the school board's superintendents and the city manager – makes the final decision on where new schools will go when the province announces new buildings.
The process has stirred controversy in recent years over the placement of a new francophone regional high school in Erin Ridge and the school site in Jensen Lakes being split between both the public and Catholic school boards.
“We need to right this wrong,” said Coun. Bob Russell, who brought the issue back before council. He argued that school site selection is basically a land use matter, something he said is within the purview of council.
Two citizens from the Erin Ridge area who fought the francophone high school placement on Eldorado Park because of traffic and parking concerns spoke in support of Russell's motion.
“Today you have another opportunity to right this grave error,” said resident Murray Lambert.
Bill Van Hoof pointed out the current process doesn't allow for input from public or council after the area structure plan (ASP) is created. It can be years between the plan's approval and schools being placed in the neighbourhood.
“As you all know there can be enormous changes in an area after the ASP stage,” he said. “Council as representatives of the public must have final authority.”
Russell received some support from fellow council members as well.
Coun. Cam MacKay said school boards almost seem to view school site selection as a commercial venture, trying to snap up the best locations to beat out competitors.
If the question of how many school sites are needed is left to the school boards, he said, the answer will be dramatically different than what council would likely decide.
“If this council can't deal with a political issue, what are we here for?” he asked.
Not all of council was convinced that requesting amendment was a good idea. Coun. Tim Osborne said he was hard-pressed to see why the school boards would willingly give up the authority they currently have.
“We're not unique in not being the final authority,” he said, countering points that St. Albert's set-up is unusual. “I just think the decisions are made best when we can all work together.”
The staff report said the amendment, if passed by council, would have to be agreed to by all parties.
Coun. Cathy Heron said the school site allocation committee was created to try and de-politicize the process.
She said council gets a chance to have a say at the governance level, when the area structure plan is approved. She said the school boards have a better idea of what the needs are in different neighbourhoods.
Russell said he is not trying to take the school boards out of the decision-making process, but bring the public back in.
Council authorized a review of the school site selection process in 2014, and voted down an attempt to terminate the current agreement. The Catholic board threatened to leave the deal last year unless it received a site in the Jensen Lakes area, which ended up being split between the public and Catholic board 70/30.
