 
| Latest News |
|
|
 |
| Opinion |
|
|
|
| Classifieds |
|
|
|
| Community |
|
|
|
|
|
| NEWS - January 26, 2010 |
|
| Alberta Education says ADLC’s future will be made clear in budget |
|
|
Ian Kucerak
Leader Staff
|
|
A letter from the province on the future of the Alberta Distance Learning Centre has left Pembina Hills School Board members puzzled.
Clayton Jespersen, the school board chair, said a vague response to the school board’s concerns was a disappointment. Especially since last year the board received a five-year agreement with the province to continue to administer service through ADLC.
"We expect that that agreement will still stand," he said. "Of course, any agreement you sign has escape clauses for each side. When you sign a five-year agreement, it says something. Usually, when you pull out there’s some really extenuating circumstances."
The letter, dated Dec. 31, 2009 and addressed to Jespersen, states that the ministry has had to make difficult choices in preparing the upcoming budget, but will take into consideration the input from boards across the province.
ADLC is specifically mentioned as one of the educational stakeholders whose role is being reconsidered during the internal debate leading up to the budget.
The Calgary School Board had suggested eliminating the ADLC as a cost-saving measure. Jespersen said it is a positive development, however, to see Minister Dave Hancock acknowledge Pembina Hill’s concerns over the proposal.
Alberta Education Communications Director Kathy Telfer said the letter was written during the run-up to the provincial budget, where details about the province’s plans to deal with a $4.3-billion deficit will be made public.
If changes are planned to ADLC, they will be made public Feb. 9, the date that the budget is set to be tabled in the Alberta Legislature.
"We looked to boards for some ideas on how we could find some efficiencies. We appreciate their input, but we haven’t finished all our work yet," Telfer said.
If the ministry chooses to change the way ADLC delivers services, Telfer said the province will do so in consultation with Pembina Hills.
"When you make any dramatic change when you deliver a service, you can’t just drop it on people in the budget," she said. "Any changes are going to be worked on as part of...a transformation."
The leadership of Alberta Education will be revealing its plans for education in the next few months, including rewriting the School Act.
ADLC’s main office is located in Barrhead. Three satellite offices are available for students in Calgary, Edmonton and Lethbridge.
Jespersen reported that he hasn’t heard of dissatisfaction with ADLC in his discussions with boards outside of Calgary.
"I’m not getting the same feeling from them," he said.
The prevailing opinion, in Jespersen’s mind, is that school boards feel the ADLC system is working well. Bigger school boards such as Calgary’s have different priorities too, he said.
"They’re so big that they can provide many, many things that we can’t." Jespersen said. "Just because economies of scale. At the same time, we know that many of their students are accessing Alberta Distance Learning Centre. They might not even know that." |
|
| Email your comments here |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
