This season's record winter snowfall is threatening to triple the Chinook's Edge School Division's entire snow removal budget.
"I have lived in Alberta my whole life and no, I have never seen anything like this. We have got an amazing amount of snow,î said Darrel Dyvig, the school division's director of facility services. "This will be the one we will remember. This will be the benchmark.î
Dyvig said his department has a $28,000 seasonal budget, which runs from September to August, and he's "sureî it has already been used up.
"We try to do as much of the snow removal in-house with the equipment and manpower we have so if we get a little bit of snow down in Sundre then our guys are typically able to manage that,î said Dyvig, adding he only has four staff members who can be tasked to remove snow and that a great deal of the work is handled by custodians at each school.
"If our whole division gets a big dump we're such a large division spread out so far it is a little tougher for our crew to get it all cleaned up so we have to rely on contractors, which starts to get a little bit more expensive.î
Dyvig said with this year's record-breaking accumulations the $28,000 budget has not only been used up hiring outside contractors it could triple if the region experiences more severe snowstorms.
He said the school board has a "contingencyî fund to offset the rising costs, adding his department's strategy to handle additional snow removal for the rest of the winter season will "depend on Mother Nature.
"Is it going to help us or work against us and keep giving us more snow?î he said.
Dyvig said school board staff and contractors have been piling up the snow in the most accessible spots, such as playgrounds and fields at each school. He said safety for students and staff is always a paramount issue when choosing a spot for the snow.
"Some schools we have spots where we are able to safely pile it up. That is part of the challenge,î said Dyvig. "One of the things our guys will do is try to open up the necessary areas and then we will pile it up temporarily and then we will move it to a place to get rid of it. And it gets to a point in all our spots where we have to haul the snow.î
Meanwhile, the school board's administrative procedures to respond to unsafe weather conditions are expected to be completed in the next few weeks.
The procedure, which was communicated to all parents prior to the winter break, outlines plans to close schools on extreme weather days when travelling is deemed unsafe.
Board officials said a second letter will be sent out to all parents and staff to provide additional clarification on all communication procedures for school closure days.
