BARRHEAD - Pembina Hills School Division brass are hoping that a March 23 meeting with representatives of Alberta Education will convince them to change course on the future of the Alberta Distance Learning Centre (ADLC).
At the end of February, the province informed Pembina Hills that the service agreement with the school division to operate the ADLC, which is located in Barrhead, would be concluded in two years.
Since then, the division has tried to get that decision reversed. The latest effort was made March 23, when Supt. Dave Garbutt and several other Pembina Hills/ADLC representatives met with Alberta Deputy Minister of Education Andre Corbould and two other assistant deputy ministers.
Noting they were allotted 45 minutes to make their case, Garbutt said, “We presented a great deal of information around completion rates, diploma exam results (because ADLC is always significantly above the province) and the number of schools that use ADLC.”
They also presented a list of comments submitted by other teachers and principals throughout the province who utilize ADLC’s resources.
Corbould concluded the meeting by stating he would be speaking further with Education Minister Adriana LaGrange on the matter and would get back to Garbutt. However, as of April 1, Garbutt said he had not yet heard from the province.
A long-running agreement
Since 1997, Pembina Hills has had a service agreement with the provincial government to operate the ADLC.
In addition to concluding that agreement in two years, the province has also stated Pembina Hills will only receive $14 million in funding to operate the ADLC in 2020-2021 and $7 million in 2021-2022.
For reference, the 2019-2020 budget of the ADLC totals $18.535 million in revenue and expenses. Approximately $17.015 million was budgeted to come directly from Alberta Education to operate the ADLC.
On March 4, Pembina Hills representatives consulted with Alberta Education and confirmed that the province intended to conclude the service agreement in two years. However, LaGrange indicated she was willing to continue the conversation.
Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock MLA Glenn van Dijken visited the ADLC on March 13 to hear more about the operations of the centre. (See https://www.townandcountrytoday.com/local-news/pembina-hills-touts-importance-of-alberta-distance-learning-centre-as-a-service-to-mla-2206305)
Another meeting with LaGrange had originally been scheduled for April 6, but it has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 crisis.
