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Corporate strategy
Okotoks Mayor Bill McAlpine, along with
employee services coordinator, Kristine Williamson, and municipal manager Will Pearce
participated in the torch relay in the Calgary Corporate Challenge Friday. The Town
of Okotoks' 46 participants in the Corporate Challenge will compete in a variety
of events this year. See
full story.
photo by Cindy Ballance
School enrolments peaked but future decline anticipated
By Gillian Beckett
Staff Reporter
An enrolment bulge in the Foothills School Division (FSD) and Christ the Redeemer
School Division (CRSD) has led to higher numbers of students attending schools this
year.
In CRSD schools within Okotoks, 611 students in Grades 7-12 attend Holy Trinity Academy
while 575 students in Grades K-8 attend Good Shepherd School and 420 Grades K-7 students
are enrolled at St. Mary's School.
However, enrolment numbers may soon be on the downward slope due to a declining birth
rate in the Foothills region.
FSD assistant superintendent Jay Pritchard said there are 98 more students enrolled
than what was projected for the 2000/2001 school year.
Last year, the FSD had projected an enrolment of 6,399 students. There are 6,497
students enrolled this year.
In order to handle this year's influx, Pritchard explained that more staff will need
to be hired.
'We will be making adjustments to allocated staff,' said Pritchard. 'We're anticipating
adding 3.7 more staff to meet the (needs of) 98 students.'
Some schools in Okotoks and the West End area (Black Diamond, Turner Valley, Millarville
and Longview) saw their enrolments jump considerably from last year's numbers.
Okotoks Junior High School (OJHS) saw the greatest difference with this year's enrolment
of 637 students opposed to last year's enrolment of 615 students.
'It's a really positive sign,' said OJHS principal Denise Rose.
To accommodate the growth, which the school experienced mainly at the Grade 7 level,
Rose explained that another classroom was created.
She said that without the additional classroom, class sizes would be about 35 students
each class.
'(With the new classroom) we have happy kids and an even happier teacher,' said Rose.
While the junior high level is experiencing a bulge in enrolment, FSD secretary-treasurer
Murray Lloyd said that there is a decline in potential students.
According to the 1999 Town of Okotoks municipal census, there is a total of 815 children
ages zero to five years.
The 1999 MD of Foothills municipal census indicated that within the region there
are 1,044 children in the same age range.
These numbers are in comparison with children ages 10 to 14 which account for 1,152
in Okotoks and 1,556 within the MD of Foothills.
'This confirms that the birth rate has flatlined although the population is increasing,'
said Lloyd. 'We do get a number of new registrants per year but it is at the high
school level. . . there are fewer students at the pre-school age for sure.'
With that in mind, Lloyd explained that the division will be looking into school
grade configurations, attendance areas and enrolment numbers to determine the future
of school development.
As for the CRSD, the division board will continue to investigate future school sites
in the Black Diamond/Turner Valley area as well as the Davisburg region northeast
of Okotoks.
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MD shaves cost of building to $3 million
By John Barlow
Staff Reporter and Sports Editor
Last week the Foothills MD council announced it has reduced its budget for a new
administration building from approximately $4.8 million to $3 million.
Council held a closed meeting on Aug. 22 to discuss the options for the building
and established a list of criteria for proceeding with the project.
The top priority was to approach their consultant to see what kind of new structure
or renovations to the existing building could be achieved with $3 million.
'We will take the $3 million and see what that gets us,' said Reeve Roy McLean. 'We
cut back to show we have listened (to the ratepayers).'
The possibility of a new administration building was made public more than a year
ago, but the issue came to a head in December when residents submitted a petition
demanding the project be revisited with more public consultation.
During the last eight months, the MD has held a number of open houses and mailed
out a survey to get feedback from the MD residents.
According to the survey, the majority of residents supported the project, but were
concerned what impact the price tag would have on their taxes and if the existing
building could simply be renovated and expanded.
As a result, council cut back on the proposed budget by almost $2 million and has
scrapped the idea of financing the building through a loan.
Instead, it is anticipated that the project will be funded through existing reserves
and the sale of MD land.
McLean said, 'I think we can work with this (funding) approach and I think it is
more appealing to the ratepayers.'
In spite of the headway made by council on Aug. 22 there are still some significant
decisions to be made including the location, construct a new building or renovate
the old one, and what role the Town of High River will have in the project.
If the council decided to build a new facility it may be in High River or elsewhere
in the MD.
Also, the MD has been in discussion with the town to share a new administration building.
One of the criteria discussed at the meeting was to contact the town to see if it
would still be interested in sharing the current MD building if it were renovated
and expanded.
'We want to work with the town and show some fiscal responsibility,' said McLean.
'We want to look at the efficiency of renovating the old building.'
MD treasurer Bill Robinson said the issue will be discussed with the architect and
then a decision will be made.
Robinson said council will review what standard of new building can be achieved with
$3 million and what $3 million will do in terms of renovating and expanding the existing
facility in High River.
Council is expected to make a decision on which option it will chose within the month.
'We are not lagging on this,' said McLean. 'We have a responsibility to our staff
and to our ratepayers.'
Council recently visited the new MD of Wheatland building east of Strathmore to get
some ideas.
McLean said Wheatland's building is approximately half of what the MD of Foothills
had proposed and it cost more than $4 million.
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