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School staff know effect of $450 million infrastructure debt – Lanovaz

CALGARY – A union representing 7,000 Alberta school board employees is backing the Calgary Board of Education in its call for higher infrastructure and maintenance funding.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Alberta President, D’Arcy Lanovaz, is supporting comments made by Gordon Dirks, chairperson of the Calgary Board of Education. Dirks told the media today that the Board faced a $450 million infrastructure debt, caused by years of under funding.

Our members, who work in schools across Alberta, have been saying for years that schools are literally crumbling,” said Lanovaz. “In recent years, the government has been funding teachers and bringing down class sizes, but they have not been fixing things like flood damage, or mould, or the need to upgrade old buildings.”

Lanovaz said that the last provincial budget gave the Calgary Board of Education a $6 million increase in maintenance and infrastructure funding. “But with such a huge debt, this was just a drop in the bucket.”

It’s great that Mr. Dirks is joining the call,” said Lanovaz. “We’ve been pushing this issue for years, but it needs a bigger push from the major school boards to embarrass the government into action.”

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For more information go to: http://www.alberta.cupe.ca