The thought of a new school being built in Athabasca sometime in the near future is an intriguing one.
There is, of course, a great divide between Aspen View School Division investigating the possibility of funding for a new school, and local kids actually being educated in a new place. But every journey begins with a single step, and in this case, the first tentative step has been taken.
Entire generations of locals have been educated at Edwin Parr Composite and Landing Trail Intermediate School, and so the prospect of those schools being closed, however far off that day may be, will no doubt be an emotional one for some.
However, when considering issues such as this, it is important to take emotion out of the equation and deal solely in facts.
The fact is (as superintendent Brian LeMessurier himself said) that the schools are getting old and will soon require major renovations, if they don’t already.
Renovations are costly; that is no secret. And the point Aspen View seems to be making is that it makes little sense using money on renovations that could potentially be used on a brand new school.
And that is a good point.
If provincial funding is available for new schools (which it would seem to be, as the provincial government is committing to 50 new schools), Aspen View would be unwise not to at least entertain the possibility of applying for it.
Nobody is saying that EPC or LTIS are decrepit and need to be condemned post haste. But the wheels of government turn slowly, while windows of opportunity tend to close quickly. There is no guarantee that such funding will be available when the day finally comes that the current schools are deemed unfit.
By investigating the potential of funding now, Aspen View could be avoiding a problematic situation in the future.
Indeed, it would be wise to have a new school ready when it is most needed, when the alternative is keeping old schools in operation longer than is ideal.
It is, as numerous school board officials noted when discussing the issue, progressive thinking.
Of course, there is no guarantee that Aspen View will receive the money even if they apply for it. There are no doubt many school divisions in the province eyeing this opportunity, and some of them may be in more immediate need of a new school than our community is.
But, to paraphrase The Great One, you can’t score if you don’t shoot. And Aspen View School Division should be commended for taking a shot.
