The board of the Chinook's Edge School Division will consider a proposal this week to sell the pioneer Benalto School to Red Deer County.
The board meets tomorrow (June 22) at Chinook's Edge's central office in Innisfail, and the issue of the school's sale to the county will be on the agenda.
“I am optimistic it is going to go through, hopefully,” said Kurt Sacher, the superintendent of schools for Chinook's Edge, who added there is a proposal for an alternative school for the building that is being spearheaded by a determined community parent group. “I think we have got a good plan there too.”
While there have been reports the dollar amount sought by the school board for the building is “nominal”, no details from the discussions between the two parties have been released. If the school board green-lights the sale, it will then go to Alberta Education for final approval, said Sacher, adding he did not expect any difficulties from the province.
Earlier this month county council gave direction to administration to negotiate with the school division for the purchase of the school in the 175-citizen hamlet, 13 kilometres west of Sylvan Lake. Chinook's Edge approached the county earlier to see if the rural municipality was interested in making a deal. Chinook's Edge decided in April to permanently close the institution at the end of this month due to declining enrolment, which had forced the school board in recent years to heavily subsidize its operations.
Jim Wood, mayor of the county, said Chinook's Edge's quick offer was not surprising as rural municipalities are usually given first chance to buy school board assets such as decommissioned buildings.
“We have a significant investment into that. We put in a playground already into that school,” said Wood, adding last week that negotiations between the county and Chinook's Edge were ongoing. “I am not aware of any finalization. We have received an offer from Chinook's Edge, and we have authorized our administration to do the negotiations, and I am not aware if it has been finalized or not at this particular moment.”
The county's interest in the building followed the announcement last month by members of the Benalto Review Committee, who have been passionately working for the past two years to save the institution, that they were making a chartered school application to Alberta Education.
“Typically we would take a look at proposals that might come forward. I have not seen anything from the parent group at this time, but it is important that we do in fact have a school in our community and that could be an option that could come forward from this,” said Wood, adding he has witnessed the “passion” put forward by hamlet citizens to save their school.
“I have been to their meetings, not for the charter school but during the closure process. There is definitely a lot of passion in the community,” said Wood, adding the county is always willing to meet with its citizens and hear proposals. “We are always willing to take a hard look at what is in the best interest for our communities, and that includes talking to various community groups, including this one.”
However, the mayor added the old school could also be used for other purposes.
“It could be a community meeting place. There are lots of other things,” said Wood. “We haven't ruled any of them in or out at this time. What we are saying is that we will take a hard look at what is the best use for the community.”
Jim Wood, mayor of Red Deer County
"I have been to their meetings, not for the charter school but during the closure process. There is definitely a lot of passion in the community."
