By Geoff Smith (@GeoffSmithLNN on Twitter)

Catholic school board chair thinks little of amalgamation push

Jan 31, 2018 | 9:50 AM

LETHBRIDGE – The chair of the Holy Spirit Roman Catholic School Board says there’s nothing new about a push for a provincewide vote on separate school divisions.

A coalition called Our IDEA (Inclusive, Diverse, Education for All) is pushing for a referendum in 2019. According to a news release from the group, Nathan Ip, an Edmonton public school board trustee, calls the separate school system an “antiquated relic of Confederation,” explaining a Catholic education can be incorporated in the public system similar to other faith-based programs.

“There’s so much good that’s happening, so when you hear about, now we’re going to have a referendum? Truthfully, we don’t pay a lot of attention to that,” Holy Spirit board chair Judy Lane said in an interview. “Because we just go about our daily work educating students with the best, up-to-date technology and information that we can give them, to prepare them for the world they’re going out into.”

Lane pointed to Holy Spirit’s education results and good relationships with other school divisions. Recently she was one of 60 people who took part in a “blanket exercise,” which teaches about the history of residential schools. It was a joint exercise with the Kainai Board of Education and three other school districts.

“It was such an eye-opener—I’m a former educator, and I learned so much,” she said. “But what I’m trying to get through with that story is that five school boards came together and participated.” She stressed their schools are inclusive and accept all children.

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Lane doesn’t see the cost savings being touted, saying she’d have to see the numbers in black and white, and there’s a con for every pro.

““It doesn’t matter whether you have all public schools or public and separate. You still have those students that need to be educated. You still have schools that need to have administration,” she said.

“We’re in good shape and we’re proud of our accomplishments with our students. We’re proud of our staff. We’re proud of our administrators. You’re going to need administrators, and I don’t see that it’s a cost savings.”