By Shaun Penner

“We really need to pay attention to our schools”; MLA McCuaig-Boyd

Mar 7, 2019 | 1:26 PM

The NDP is saying they want to put education as a top priority heading into the spring provincial election.

This comes after UCP education critic Mark Smith claimed at an all-party education forum in Edmonton over the weekend that his party wants to focus on balancing the provincial budget, before increasing funding to areas like education.

The NDP say the province is expecting approximately 15,000 new students to enroll for the fall of 2019, with an estimated 449 new students coming to Grande Prairie.

“That’s bigger than any school I have ever taught at,” said Dunvegan-Central Peace-Notley MLA Marg McCuaig-Boyd. “That’s a number of students who are going to be in crowded classrooms, and if there are no new teachers, I find that quite concerning.”

The increased funding would be put into the education system to upgrade resources and technology, on top of hiring more teachers, as well as build new schools (i.e. Kensington neighbourhood and the Five Mile area).

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“We would prioritize the areas where there are more schools needed,” said McCuaig-Boyd. “As we know, Grande Prairie’s been growing and it’s one of the youngest cities in Canada. We really need to pay attention to our schools.”

The UCP and NDP have rarely, if ever, seen eye-to-eye on the issue of education. The New Democrats have drafted a new curriculum for grades K to four, which is set to roll out in the fall of 2019. UCP leader Jason Kenney said last month that his party would completely do away with it, should it be “ideological”. The United Conservatives have backed off from that stance, taking more of a wait-and-see approach as the election nears.

The United Conservatives have built a campaign platform based around cutting taxes and reducing government spending. Earlier this week, Kenney spoke with EverythingGP about his plan to cut the corporate tax rate from 12% to 8% by 2022. Premier Rachel Notley disagreed with the notion of the tax cut for big business, while in turn not increasing funding for schools in the province.

“It’s reckless to freeze education while handing out the biggest corporate tax giveaway in Alberta history,” said Notley, in a release. “Kids don’t want massive tax cuts, they want a teacher who is smiling as they walk into class on the first day of school.”

McCuaig-Boyd also claims that education should be viewed as an investment, not as an overhead expense.

Notley will hold a Speech from the Throne on March 18 to open the legislature’s spring session, where it is expected she will call for an election.