I was thrilled to participate in last week’s groundbreaking for Airdrie’s new middle school in Sagewood and high school in Prairie Springs. With the recent opening of Heron’s Crossing Elementary, the newly announced K-12 francophone school as well as the large expansion of Airdrie Koinonia Christian School, Airdrie is finally catching up on what was (and still is for now) the most serious school shortage in the entire province.
Although we are catching up, the job is still not complete. Every one of the schools listed above will almost certainly open full and Rocky View School Division has made it clear that an additional two public schools will need to be announced in the next 24 months if we are to take care of the remaining backlog. This week, I will be meeting with the Minister of Education, Jeff Johnson, to communicate these needs to him personally.
However, there is no doubt that we are finally making real progress, and I feel congratulations are in order for everyone who worked so hard over the past several years to make it happen. Parents, especially those involved with the Council of School Councils, are to be commended for organizing rallies, letter writing campaigns and holding the feet of politicians to the fire on this issue. Our local trustees, mayor, City council, superintendent and other elected officials were also instrumental. Even students contributed to the effort; the petition organized by Leah Moore being just one amazing example.
Our community’s success in this endeavour is a testament to the power of a grassroots campaign, strong volunteerism and the need to be proactive and assertive as a community in directing our future rather than passively waiting for the provincial government to come to our rescue. We have the power to set our own course as a community – and we have done just that.
Well done everyone.
I also want to put in a pitch for our Wildrose Caucus’s “Movember” campaign to raise money and awareness for prostate cancer and other male diseases. As you can see from the attached picture, I could really use a shave (as could most Wildrose MLAs involved in this), however, all the itching and weird looks will be well worth it if you can make a contribution to the cause by clicking here - http://mobro.co/RobAndersonAB
I promise to be clean-shaven again by December – we’ll leave the beards and mustaches to Santa!
