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July 18, 2019 RECEIVED Honourable Adriana LaGrange AUG- 62019 Minister of Education Office of the Minister Education 228 Legislature Building 10800-97 Avenue Edmonton, ABTSK2B6

Dear Minister LaGrange,

Iam writing to you on behalf of the St. Thomas Aquinas Roman (STAR)Catholic Schools Board of

Tru5tees regarding provincial announcements of new schools in Alberta. Ifelt it was important to share our experience with the process as it currently exists, and express concerns I’mcertain are felt not only by the STARCatholic Board, but by many others in our province as well.

The issues begin when new school announcements are made quite suddenly and without notice to the impacted boards and municipalities. Inthese instances, school divisions are asked to confirm the existence of a serviced, construction-ready site within the designated municipality, often without a significant amount of time allotted between the announcement and the projected start of construction.

Asa former board trustee, you can appreciate the difficulties the timing of these announcements can pose. In an ideal world, every jurisdiction would have multiple sites ready for the construction of schools. The reality, however, is municipalities willoften be reluctant to service a site based solely on the possibility of a future announcement of school construction. Hesitancy is heightened in times of economic challenges; scrutiny and prioritization of resources often means new sites are left unserviced in favour of work on existing developments.

Greater transparency and improved communication at every stage of decision-making leading up to the announcement of new schools would allow for more preparedness and efficiency at the jurisdiction level. It would also help mitigate the risk of a division losing the opportunity for a new school based on lack of site services, which could be implemented in a timely manner given a more significant amount of notice before construction.

StThomas Aquinas Roman Catholic Schools Serving Beaumont. Drayton Valley,Lacombe,Induc, Ponoka &Wetaskiwin 4908 —50Ave.LeducAS T9E6W9 • Phone 780956 2500 • 1900.5830698 • Fax790 986 8620 • www.starcathollc.ab.ca Minister LaGrange Page 2 July 18, 2019

With this said, we would greatly appreciate the opportunity to meet with you to discuss ways in which we could improve the process as it exists between the Government of Alberta, municipal governments, and school 4oars across the province. We look forward to sharing our experiences so that you may determine ways in which fairness and efficiency are maximized for all parties involved, and help establish a process that is as beneficial as possible for the growing — and deserving — student population of Alberta.

Sincerely,

Michelle Lamer Board Chair

CC: , Minister of Municipal Affairs , Minister of Infrastructure Ronald Orr, M.L.A.for Lacombe-Ponoka Brad Rutherford, M.L.A.for Leduc-Beaumont Mark Smith, M.L.A.for Drayton Valley-Devon RickWilson, M.L.A.for Maskwacis-Wetaskiwin LorrieJess, President of the Alberta School Boards Association Alberta School Board of Trustees Chairs