Mr. Bhardwaj: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I have heard many of my constituents tell me that if you close down a school, you damage the community. Well, there have been lots of rumours about school closures, not just in the teachers' lounges but right here in the Legislature. My question is to the Minister of Education. What are you doing to keep schools open and keep Alberta's communities from further damage?
Mr. Hancock: Well, Mr. Speaker, obviously it's important to have schools in communities where kids are. It's important to have schools in communities because schools are oftentimes the core of the community, but it's not possible to keep schools open if there are no kids for them. We asked the school boards. The school boards have to make the most appropriate judgment, in their judgment, as to what is the best educational opportunity for the children within their jurisdiction. They have that authority, they have that ability, and they do it well.
The Speaker: The hon. member.
Mr. Bhardwaj: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Alberta's population has been growing over the past few years, especially in areas like my constituency of Edmonton-Ellerslie in southeast Edmonton and other outlying areas. To the same minister: what is the government doing to deal with this population growth?
Mr. Hancock: Mr. Speaker, in fact, that is the problem that we face because under the ASAP program we are building 18 schools in Edmonton and Calgary, one of them in the member's constituency. That is good for those communities because we don't have to bus those children to other schools. I would say that that does not mean that all the schools in the inner city or other neighborhoods have to be closed. In fact, the Edmonton public school board has provided one of the best models in the country with respect to the city centre school project, where they provide better educational opportunities with fewer schools but better schools for those students.
The Speaker: The hon. member.
Mr. Bhardwaj: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My final supplemental to the same minister: are there any plans to examine the regulations surrounding the school closures?
Mr. Hancock: Well, Mr. Speaker, we are, obviously, with our Inspiring Education project looking at everything right from the very top with respect to how education is delivered in a 21st century model, how we make sure that we have the right kind of educational opportunities for students, and part and parcel of that will be a reexamination of what kind of physical platform we need to deliver education in communities. So we will be looking at that, and in the meantime we are looking at our school closure regulations, and we're working with municipalities to make sure that school properties can survive a closure and live to be of community purpose until they're needed again as a school.
The bussing of students to school is not an ideal situation for the kids or the communitys in which the numerous buses in some cases travel through. If the schools that exis are to be used they should be for not any or minimal bussing populations. Independent schools need to rely on parents driving their kids or use of vans only . It is bad to see large buses parked on side in cul de sacs during the day while the driver sits at home until it is time to drive the kids home. If parents want choice then they should magange the hassle of tranportation alone and not burden the communities who are putting up with the noise and aesthetics of massive tour type buses. These big buses are not safe on our unploughed streets and they can not stop and are a safety issue for commuities yet if you talk to the bus companies, they feel they can park, and drive anywhere at any time of the day. The taxpayer should have a say in the cost of such educational empire building and experimentation and idealitic goals that only a few of the larger population ie the louder voice, advocate. Good for Mr. Hancock for looking at the larger issues.