EDMONTON – Public School Trustees should reject attempts to close eleven schools in the city. That was the message from Dennis Mol, President of CUPE Alberta. CUPE represents over 3,000 employees of the school district.
“Closing schools based on 2010 enrollment is short sighted,” said Mol. “It destroys communities by assuming they are static and never changing.”
Mol said the utilization formula doesn’t put enough value on community schools, which act as a centerpiece of their neighborhoods.
“The school district has forgotten the value schools add to communities,” said Mol. “They bring people together for concerts, sporting events, fundraisers and community meetings. They make our city more friendly and livable.
Mol took aim at the School Trustees, calling on them to take a harder line against closures.
“School Trustees should stand up to the provincial government and refuse to kill community schools,” said Mol. “Not one of them was elected on a platform to close these schools, and if they refused to do the province’s dirty work – they’d all be re-elected in a landslide.”
“Edmonton is growing – we need more schools, not fewer.”