Board of Trustees discuss Advocacy Priorities with MLA Dan Williams
The Peace River School Division's Board of Trustees met with Peace River MLA Dan Williams on Thursday, April 3 at Central Operations in Grimshaw. During the one-hour meeting, the Trustees discussed several of their advocacy priorities, including their concerns about mental health funding, and the need for a long-term, stable solution for PRSD schools.
"We don't have a huge ask, we just want to do it differently," said Trustee Lori Leitch regarding the Division's wish to be able to deliver mental health funding to students in the north in a way that is both sustainable and practical given the challenges around accessing mental health professionals north of Edmonton.
The Trustees also spoke about how the Province needed to start looking at different solutions in their support of small rural schools. As an example, the Trustees spoke about transportation funding, and how the grant calculations don't always work out the way they are intended.
When the Division implemented the Province's new transportation walk distances, while more students became eligible for busing, the amount of funding the Division received from the Province for transportation actually decreased. This was because the number of student who live closer to their schools, and who could now ride the bus, decreased the Division's sparsity calculations, and directly impacted the amount of funding the Division received for transporting the students who live the furthest distance away from their designated school. While the number of students who live in the rural areas did not decrease, there was less funding available to transport these students.
"We have five-year-olds whose work day is longer than their parents," said Trustee Leitch.
The Trustees asked MLA Williams to help them advocate for a funding that would specifically assist the most rural school Divisions, including the PRSD, to keep bus rider times under an hour.
To read more about the Trustees advocacy priorities, click HERE.