Dave King's Comments on Separate Schools Stir Calgary Conversation
Calgary’s school boards are feeling the squeeze. The Calgary Board of Education is pulling millions from reserves, and the Catholic School District faces a projected $21.5 million deficit, both grappling with surging enrollment and inflation. It highlights a critical, ongoing provincial debate.
Enter Dave King. The former Alberta Minister of Education has long championed a bold solution: unifying public and separate school boards. His reasoning is sharp. Merging would drive cost efficiency and foster a more inclusive education system. King argues that millions spent on parallel administrations could instead directly benefit students.
This isn't a new conversation. Alberta's separate school system, primarily Catholic, exists due to constitutional provisions from 1867. Today, the province operates 17 separate school authorities. With 25 to 30 percent of Alberta's children currently attending Catholic schools, the question of a unified system remains a potent point of discussion for the future of education in our province.
