Alberta home-school agency closed by province can operate, but no cash: judge

Jay Cameron, a spokesman for Trinity, said he is pleased with the ruling.

“It ensures that the parents and the students, who have been tremendously disrupted by this ill-considered decision, will continue to have a school to go to, until Jan. 5 at the least,” he said outside of court.

Education Minister David Eggen said it is important to note that Friday’s ruling was not a final determination on the merits of the case.

“We stand behind the actions that we have taken to date based on the evidence made public in the audit,” Eggen said in a release.

“Our priority, as always, is our students and ensuring that every public dollar is spent to ensure they are getting a high-quality education.”

Wildrose education critic Mark Smith said he has been telling Eggen for days that “he was wrong” to close Trinity just two months into the school year.

“Instead of taking less extreme measures to deal with alleged financial mismanagement, the minister unilaterally threw the lives of 3,500 students and their parents into chaos, and this was the wrong approach,” Smith said.

Trinity and Wisdom oversee about one-third of all home-schooled students in Alberta.

The province pulled $5 million per year in funding after a report cited public money being used for lavish parties, alcohol, gift cards, funeral expenses and babysitting.

The report said the senior ranks of both Trinity and Wisdom were essentially made up of two families. It said those families, whose names were not made public, received $2.8 million in compensation over the last three years.

Wisdom and Trinity deny the allegations.

(CJXX, The Canadian Press)

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Alberta home-school agency closed by province can operate, but no cash: judge

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