Just days after the board of trustees for the Canadian Rockies Public School Division (CRPS) voted to close Exshaw School near Canmore this fall, an agreement has been reached that will keep students in class.
The school division and Stoney Education Authority (SEA) have reached a three-year funding agreement with Indigenous Services Canada, according to a statement from Christopher MacPhee, Superintendent of Canadian Rockies Public Schools.
“It is a solid three-year agreement.”
The funding will allow families from the Stoney Nakoda Nation to continue sending their children to Exshaw School if they choose to. It also supports students from the First Nation who attend other schools in the division.
“Previously the money came directly from Ottawa to Canadian Rockies Public Schools, but now under the new Truth and Reconciliation agreements the money will flow through Ottawa to Stoney Education Authority, who we will invoice for the services we’re providing as an educational vendor to their children,” MacPhee explained.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Indigenous Services Department said, ” This agreement will allow for stability while a modernized education services agreement is developed between CRPS and the SEA, ensuring Stoney Nakoda First Nation holds control over the education of their children.”
“Today’s news sees certainty through the end of the 2023 school year, providing relief for parents, staff and administrators.”
The school division will be recommending that the board of trustees rescind its motion to close the school at a special meeting to be held on Saturday. The decision to re-purpose the school was made just last week due to a lack of a funding agreement.
Ninety-nine per cent of the students at Exshaw School are from the First Nation. The school has been funded by federal dollars since 1973.
MacPhee says Alberta’s education ministry was instrumental in bringing the federal government to the table to reach an agreement.