Last week’s announcement by the government saw the approval of the Bold Center high school project, one that was a long-time coming for some. For Lac La Biche Mayor Peter Kirylchuk, the announcement was one of the “most heartwarming moments” of his political career.
“This is a momentous occasion for the community and for the students,” he said after his speech at the two-hour long ceremony at the Bold Center last Friday to celebrate the announcement. The event saw Premier Ed Stelmach take the stage, along with MLA for Lac La Biche-St.Paul and Minister of Infrastructure Ray Danyluk and Northern Lights School Division Trustees Arlene Hrynyk and Danny Smaiel.
Stelmach announced the government’s plan to open a high school attached to the Bold Center that will accommodate 800 students in Grades 9 to 12 when it opens its doors tentatively in 2014. The high school is one of 35 schools across the province announced last week as part of the government’s $550 million commitment to education and to address the increasing student enrollment numbers, said Stelmach.
“We had to address the growth pressures, especially the need for a school in Lac La Biche,” said the premier during his speech. “Alberta is the only province to see growth in student enrollment.”
The announcement of the local high school and 34 other new schools was part of the province’s 20-year Capital Plan to invest in education and Stelmach told Post staff after the event that although the proposed Bold Center elementary school didn’t get announced, it is coming.
“The original plan was for 75 new schools, but we are starting with 35. We are going to see how things roll out towards the end of this year but the idea is, we made the commitment that the spaces be built,” he said, adding that there needs to be proof of high elementary student enrollment numbers before the project gets the green light. “These are projects that we cannot support without large student enrolments. They have a tremendous need [in Lac La Biche] and the board of infrastructure is sorting out all of the details.”
But the LLB County mayor says council and the Northern Lights school Division’s Board of Trustees haven’t given up yet and will continue to lobby until the elementary school comes on board.
“We need to continue to lobby and put ideas before the government. We got one, now we will work towards getting the other,” he said.
