Re: Edmonton schools face possible closure
From: A Better Edmonton
The City of Edmonton keeps growing and growing. Unlike many cities, there are no meaningful geographical limits to this expansion. Edmonton isn’t bordered by the ocean or mountains, just miles and miles of limitless, wide open spaces. This terrain makes growth easy. Just decide were you want to build something and build it! The only problem with this growth model is that it’s unsustainable.
While the population of Edmonton is increasing, it’s not increasing at such as rate as to justify the physical growth of the city. It’s much cheaper, easier and faster to build new than it is to work with what you’ve already got.
This creates a lot of expensive problems for the city. When there are new subdivisions built, there are certain things the city must provide. Things like utilities, paved roads, traffic lights, police, fire stations, public transit and schools. These things all cost money.
What happens to the old things that are no longer needed? Nothing, really. The city apparently just ignores them and hopes a solution will present itself. Instead of fixing old schools, they build new and allow old ones to fall into disrepair until they’re no longer good for much of anything. Law enforcement and fire/rescue are spread thinner and thinner so they can patrol and serve new neighbourhoods. New bus routes are added at the expense of existing routes. This type of municipal thinking and spending is harmful, lazy and expensive.
Since there’s no physical barrier that stops developers from building further and further away from the existing core, council should impose an artificial limit to the size to which the city can grow.
Does a developer want to build 60 new houses? The city should instruct said developer to find an existing piece of land in the city and redevelop it. There is already infrastructure at this location, there are already buses that service the area and police and fire departments are already in place. Oh, and there are already schools that can serve the new development. Even if the school is so decrepit that it could no longer serve as a place of learning, it would still be more cost effective to tear it down and start over than it would be to build a new structure in a new neighbourhood with new infrastructure.
I also have no idea what people are thinking in terms of schools and older neighbourhoods.
The school board is doing one thing over here (picture me waving my left land) and the city is over here (now I’m waving my right arm around) and it’s like they don’t even talk about working together.
I’m on board with “A Better Edmonton” Well said! Now send a letter to every city councilor.
To close the schools would be short sighted and would derail the revitalization of older areas. Communities go in cycles and things are picking up in our inner city. What will EPSB do when all the young families move to the well-established communites? Bus them to the outskirts of town? Is that a cost savings? Edmonton Public Schools has an opportunity here to do something different. Perhaps the city could offer developers and school boards incentives to keep our older areas more vibrant.
I know that EPSB is not in the business of keeping a school open just for the sake of a community – it is for the kids. But don’t remove the choice of a neighbourhood school for kids in the inner city just to save money and justify building new schools on the outskirts of town. Keep the schools open in the older areas, recognizing the different needs of the residents. These older buildings are fixtures, strong good buildings, not like the impermanant schools being built now. The school board should hold on to their greatest assets, for the sake of the kids and their families.