Some costs associated with delays to Cochrane’s RancheView School may be borne by Rocky View Schools (RVS), despite the holdup being caused by a late delivery of materials to the school site by the contractor.
“I guess I’m a bit perturbed by some of these extra costs. They should not necessarily have been borne by the school division,” Trustee Sylvia Eggerer said. “They should be borne by the contractor who is not meeting their obligation to get our school ready.”
RancheView School is set to open in “phases” in September, with the school’s kindergarten to Grade 2 students set to occupy the east wing portion of the school. However, the remainder of the school’s students will attend classes at Mitford School in portable classrooms until January 2017.
According to Eggerer, additional costs to the school division caused by the delays could include having to keep portables on the Mitford site, waiving transportation fees for RancheView students busing to Mitford and busing children to Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre for physical education.
RVS could not provide a cost estimate for these services by press time, nor provide specifics on what additional costs would be borne by the school division.
“This is upsetting, and this is starting it on a different foot,” Eggerer said. “They should be paying for our busing. The fact that the portables have to stay there, and we have to (bus them to Spray Lake), that should not become a board cost.”
RVS Superintendent of Business and Operations Darrell Couture said he would contact Alberta Infrastructure to determine whether potential costs associated with the delays might be reimbursed.
“It would depend on the type of contracting, what is in the contract,” he said. “The contract between Alberta Infrastructure and the contractor, I don’t know (the details).”
“School authorities are provided with transportation funding to provide busing services to their students as they deem best for their communities,” said Larissa Liepins, a spokesperson with Alberta Education in an email to the Rocky View Weekly. “That said, Alberta Education would be open to discussing the matter with the school board if they have any concerns.”
A slight calendar change was implemented by RVS trustees March 17 in order to accommodate changes made by Alberta Education.
Previously approved calendars saw Grade 9 students completing Provincial Achievement Tests (PATs) and Grade 12 completing diploma exams on June 28. Changes from Alberta Education will see PATs and diploma exams move to June 29.
The last day for kindergarten to Grade 8 students will remain June 28.
– Rocky View Publishing
