Regional Office –

No schools considered for closure

The board reviewed the criteria to determine if any schools should be considered for closure for the 2021-22 school year. Schools are assessed annually against the closure criteria, which includes the following factors:

• Are there factors related to the school building?
• Is the school meeting the critical minimum enrolment?
• How many students are we expecting to attend in the future?
• Are fewer than 60 per cent of the students in the attendance area attending the school?
• Does operating the school create excessive costs for the division?

Fort Assiniboine School is the only school that didn’t meet the criteria for critical minimum enrolment. However, they would have met the criteria if students who normally attend the school had chosen to continue to attend school in person during the pandemic. Fort Assiniboine School also creates an excessive cost for the division in the amount of $122,127.

After careful consideration of the criteria presented, the board decided not to consider any schools for closure in 2021-22. See details in 2020-2021 School Viability Report.

ADLC reports Annual Education Results

ADLC provided critical support to Alberta students and schools when learning shifted from in-person to at-home last year. The results confirm this, showing increases in enrollments and completion rates. Unfortunately, due to the cancellation of April and June diploma exams and June PAT exams, the survey of students and affiliated schools couldn’t be completed this year.

Read the ADLC Combined Annual Report and Education Plan here.

Division finishes the year with a surplus

The cancellation of in-school classes last year from March-June, and the addition of a very successful summer program at Vista Virtual School left the division with a $2M surplus at the end of the 2019-2020 school year. While the Accumulated Surplus from Operations is almost $6.2M, the board has already sent a request to the Minister of Education to use $1.7M to cover the additional costs at Vista Virtual School due to increased enrolment this year.

The Alberta Distance Learning Centre also finished the year with a surplus of $708K, leaving them with an Accumulated Surplus from Operations of $6.2M.

Read the Audited Financial Statements here.

Check out the board meeting agenda and minutes for more information.

The next school board meeting is at the Regional Office on Wednesday, December 9, 2020 starting at 9:00 a.m. Members of the public are invited to view a livestream of the meeting on our website.