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community cornerstones A look at Calgary and area’s rich history of both new and old corner stores.
in section B courtesy:
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failing grade
Decreases to Alberta’s education budget causing further concern
2012
2011
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2014
for Calgary parents
2015 2016
Basic funding per student * 2016 2017
Source: Calgary Board of Education * Anticipated budgets
* 2017 2018
kelsey hipkin, Reporter/Photographer
reporter/photographer
C
andice Collins is no stranger to long commutes. Growing up in the northeast community of Rundle, she had to navigate the city’s public transit system for hours each day to attend William Abrehart High School in city’s northwest, her designated French-immersion school. Now in her 30s, Collins is worried her five-year-old son may face the same fate in getting to school. “[I’m concerned] he’s going to wind up with a super long commute. Because
in order to find the programs and the atmosphere that I want, we might have to move around,” she said. “I have quite a few people who have told me they have to take their kid great distances every day. Maybe their elementary school is close, but then their junior high isn’t close and their high school might be even farther.” Collins isn’t alone when it comes to her concerns about the province’s education system, which, in some areas, is already strained to accept new students and where 60-minute bus rides are becoming the new norm. A reported $125-million increase in education funding from the province
MLS® MONTH END INVENTORY* MAR ‘13 – MAR ‘15
government’s 2015–2016 budget will have on student success and the overall education system in our province,” said CBE in a release. “According to the provincial fiscal plan, this growth in student population is not, and will not, be funded. By not funding growth, we are effectively reducing the per-pupil funding for every student while increasing class sizes. Growing districts are forced to attempt to provide the same level of service for more students with less funding.” In its 2015 budget briefing, the CBE foresees funding per student will decrease from about $9,400 this year to
There are an expected 2,500 new students anticipated in Calgary this year, a 2.4 per cent increase compared to 2014.
an anticipated $8,830 by 2017-18. In mid-April, CBE’s Board of Trustees directed administration to use $18 million of reserves in the proposed 2015/16 budget to fund growth and main class sizes.
schools A3
Developer contents Concord Pacific news briefs five things sees Calgary event listing as positive weekly feed long-term mortgage rates investment how to
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MAR13 3787 APR13 4208 MAY13 4568 4343 JUN13 JUL13 3931 AUG13 3597 3616 SEP13 OCT13 3388 NOV13 2743 DEC13 1765 JAN14 2181 FEB14 2641 MAR14 3033 3820 APR14 4528 MAY14 4759 JUN14 4678 JUL14 4591 AUG14 4559 SEP14 4162 OCT14 3826 NOV14 3213 DEC14 4655 JAN15 FEB15 MAR15
CITY OF CALGARY
in 2015/16 will still leave local school boards such as Calgary’s strapped for cash, say officials. The Calgary Board of Education (CBE) estimates a $29.3-million gap between the funding required to maintain all areas of the system at the same levels as the 2014/15 school year. The CBE’s also concerned there’s not enough funding for more teachers, with almost 2,500 new students expected to come in the system this year, a 2.4 per cent increase. “As 19 growing school districts representing approximately 65 per cent of students in Alberta, we have a shared concern about the significant effect the
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kelsey hipkin
*All statistics based on monthly data compiled by CREB® via MLS® activity. Includes detached, attached and apartment.
ROYAL RIDGE MANOR
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Unbeatable Value
Pride of Ownership
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Spring in Calgary
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Be garage safe
CREB® STAFF
C
iting market conditions that offer “access to the best quality tradespeople,” Vancouver-based Concord Pacific has broken ground on the first of two Calgary real estate developments.
commercial A3
pop the question. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A13 Ivan Brooker, Cochrane mayor
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