Although there haven’t been any incidents of fentanyl overdoses in area schools, the Chinook’s Edge School Division (CESD) is examining the possibility of bringing anti-overdose naloxone kits into its facilities as a safety measure, says superintendent Kurt Sacher.
During the recent board meeting, trustees instructed administration to prepare a report on the kits, including requirements for training and current practices in others school divisions.
“The board has asked us to do some more due diligence, some more research,” said Sacher. “So we’ve been looking for a legal opinion, information from our insurer, and contacting Alberta Health Services for their advice.
“We are gathering all that information for the board and that will guide a decision as to how to move forward in that regard.”
The decision to examine the kits was part of the division’s ongoing efforts to ensure student safety, he said.
“We’ve had no incidents (of fentanyl overdoses) in our schools,” he said. “It is proactive to at least look at it. There are lots of significant implications for staff when you start trying to administer with a kit like that, so that’s why we want to make sure we’ve done everything we can in that regard.
“We don’t want to put our staff in a position where they don’t have expertise, whereas our health-care professionals might be better suited to address a particular problem.”
An update on the matter could come before a committee meeting at the end of the month, with trustees possibly being updated in April, he said.
In other division news, the board has approved an updated capital plan setting out the top five project priorities in the division.
The list was complied following a study by the division’s facilities committee.
The list, in order of priority, is as follows:
- Expansion of Carstairs Elementary School to meet demographics and community growth needs.
- A new Olds Elementary School to meet demographics and community growth needs.
- Modernization of H.J Cody High School in Sylvan Lake.
- Replacement of current Penhold Elementary School with a new 600 capacity middle school.
- A new 500 capacity pre-kindergarten to Grade 4 school in Carstairs.
The fact that two of the top five priorities involves Carstairs is a clear indication of population pressures in that community, he said.
“Carstairs for sure is one of our fastest growing areas,” he said. “Definitely we are at capacity in Carstairs and it’s only going to become more challenging for us if we don’t have a little bit of relief in that community. It’s been growing for a while and it is definitely time we need some support.”
An exact cost estimate of the proposed Carstairs projects has not yet been made, he said.
“We are hoping to hear something (from the government) soon,” he said. “Usually there is a round of funding that comes out around budget time, so hopefully there will be something there for Carstairs.”
The report will be filed with Alberta Education.
Meanwhile, funding concerns remain regarding school bus transportation in the division, he said.
“We continue to have concerns in that area,” he said. “We have expressed that repeatedly with government. We’ve definitely made government aware of our concerns relative to transportation.
“Internally we’ve done what we feel we can as far as ride times and so on, but we still have to replenish our bus fleet. You need to keep those buses on a health cycle.”
During the recent board meeting, trustees reviewed a quarterly transportation report, which included ride times and fleet renewal requirements for the upcoming year.
“This represents approximately $700,000 in fleet renewal costs to the transportation budget, which includes a special handicapped-equipped bus that is required to replace an aging bus,” he said.
