Minister panned for wading into schools dispute
Nicolaides says he acted ‘as a father’ amid uproar over high school boundaries
An Alberta cabinet minister has come under fire for wading into a school boundary dispute in his own Calgary community, raising personal concerns as a parent who lives in Cougar Ridge where students are being diverted farther away for high school.
UCP MLA Demetrios Nicolaides, minister of advanced education, sent a letter to the Calgary Board of Education stating “as a father and resident of Cougar Ridge, it was to my extreme dismay that I learned of the CBE’S decision to change the boundaries for Ernest Manning High School.” The letter is written using MLA letterhead stating “Legislative Assembly Alberta.”
Two weeks ago, amid a lengthy high school engagement examining overcapacity issues, the CBE issued a surprise notice alerting families that students in 13 southwest communities, formerly designated to Ernest Manning, will instead have to attend Central Memorial High School next fall.
While all Grade 10-11 students currently attending Manning will get to stay, students in junior high school, who were slated to attend Manning next fall, will be diverted to Central.
Among those communities are several within walking distance or a two-minute drive to Manning, but more than a 30-minute drive to Central, including Coach Hill, Patterson Heights, Cougar Ridge and Discovery Ridge.
Other areas being redesignated are Glenbrook, Glendale, Killarney,
Richmond, Rosscarrock, Shaganappi, Spruce Cliff, Westgate and Wildwood.
But parents, who have been concerned about underfunding and capacity issues at the CBE for years, are asking why Nicolaides would use his influence as an MLA and provincial minister to advocate for personal reasons.
“This is a clear abuse of power,” said Barb Silva, spokeswoman for Support Our Students.
“He is part of a government that has underfunded the education system. He should be advocating on behalf of public education and addressing overcrowding.
“Instead, he is flexing his own power, in his own area, for his own benefit.”
Nicolaides said he is advocating for his constituents in Calgary Bow, adding the letter was sent on MLA letterhead, not government letterhead.
“I still have a responsibility as an MLA to represent and serve my constituents,” Nicolaides told reporters at the Alberta legislature this week.
Asked for a more detailed phone interview and a response as to whether he was pushing the issue for personal reasons, Nicolaides’s press secretary did not make him available and provided only an emailed statement.
“The Calgary Board of Education’s decision to change the boundaries for Ernest Manning High School is incredibly concerning for the many families within the Calgary-bow constituency,” Nicolaides said in the statement.
“(As their MLA), it is my job to, bring their concerns forward and make sure their voices are heard. I have asked the CBE to reconsider their decision and will continue to represent my constituents to the best of my ability.”
In local school matters, parents and other residents are represented by trustees elected during the municipal elections.
CBE chair Marilyn Dennis refused to comment on the letter, saying she had not received it.
According to the CBE announcement on Manning’s website, the school is “at capacity, with current enrolment at just under 2,000 students ... We anticipate that over the next two years, school enrolment will increase by an additional 150 students each year. At that size, it would be challenging for the school to provide optimal learning opportunities for students.”
But parents living near Ernest Manning are outraged the CBE made this decision without consulting them, during a long-term process meant to balance high school capacity issues across the system.
“The CBE has completely failed parents on this,” said Sheri Bolitho, who lives in Cougar Ridge and worries her son, in Grade 7, will never attend Ernest Manning, a short drive from their home.
“The CBE has not even listened to us. We received a letter, late on a Friday afternoon, of course, and we were shocked.
“Now we are seeing cohorts being completely split up. And kids in Cougar Ridge will literally have to catch their bus, headed to Central Memorial, right in front of Ernest Manning High School.”
The CBE announcement also states the redesignation may only be temporary until the high school engagement is complete.
In an effort to balance enrolment, with many suburban high schools overcapacity and several inner-city high schools under capacity, the CBE launched a high school engagement process this fall, set to be completed by 2021 and then implemented by 2022.
Parents were invited to attend a number of open house sessions at various high schools. But Bolitho, who has attended, said CBE officials never mentioned the Manning redesignation.
According to the CBE’S latest capacity figures, Ernest Manning is now at 129 per cent capacity, while Central Memorial is only at 72 per cent.
Parents have reported that at Manning, students are facing class sizes of more than 45 students for many core courses, with many forced to eat lunch on the floors of hallways.
Of the CBE’S 20 high schools, administrators predict that within the next five years, 10 high schools will be operating at 100 to 150 per cent capacity, while seven schools will be at 50 to 85 per cent capacity.