Richard Froese
South Peace News
Peace River School Division is lobbying for more provincial funding to furnish new school buildings planned at Red Earth Creek and Manning.
At its regular meeting Feb. 20, the board of trustees agreed to write a letter on behalf of Red Earth Creek School to Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides to seek more funding for furniture and equipment for the new school, says a PRSD news release published Feb. 24.
In an effort to better position the Red Earth School project financially, the board decided to write a letter to Nicolaides advocating for adequate funding for the furnishings budget for Red Earth Creek.
The letter was considered necessary after communication between the board and Alberta Education regarding the furniture and equipment budget for the new Manning Aurora Composite School.
A sharp increase in prices of furniture and equipment over the last three years, compounded by the need to have everything shipped from more central locations to northern Alberta, has resulted in a shortfall in the funding required to purchase all the necessary furniture and equipment at the new school.
The furniture and equipment budget for the Manning school was originally calculated in 2022 and allocated in 2023.