By Chris Brown

20 cases in schools already

NDP education critic says it’s time for Kenney to keep his word on school safety

Sep 8, 2020 | 1:01 PM

NDP Education Critic Sarah Hoffman says it’s time for the premier to act and give schools the resources they need to keep students and teachers safe.

“Jason Kenney has said that this isn’t about money. He actually said that if there’s a need for additional resources to ensure a safe re-entry of schools that he’ll make those resources available, Now is the time for him to keep his word,” said Hoffman at a news conference Tuesday in Edmonton.

Hoffman says there have already been 20 cases of COVID-19 in schools since they reopened last week, 16 of which were made public since Friday.

“These are just the ones we’re aware of, there could be more and this is a very disturbing trend just days into the school year,” she said, adding it doesn’t need to be this way. “We knew kids would be back in school fr months and the government has done nothing to plan for it, they’ve done very little to provide confidence or assurances that they take this as seriously as most staff students and family take it.”

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Hoffman said the money the government has provided so far for hand sanitizer and masks works out to about $13 per student.

Hoffman and the NDP are calling on the government to act on the plan the Opposition party provided to the government in July.

The first recommendation of that report was to limit class sizes and hire additional staff.

“This is to ensure the two metres physical distancing is a possibility in schools which in a vast majority of schools it is not today,” Hoffman said, pointing to empty spaces in schools, recentres, libraries, places of worship and post-secondary institutions. “We can provide resources to schools so they can staff up and spread out and reduce the risk of transmission in schools. All we need now is a government willing to act.”

The NDP also wants daily ongoing reporting of school cases for transparency.

According to Support Our Students Alberta, a non-partisan, non-profit public education advocacy group, there are 23 schools in Alberta where cases have been confirmed. The only local case listed is at Ecole St. John Paul II School.

In a Facebook post, Jana Macdonald, principal of Bowness High School in Calgary where a case has been confirmed, says she’s never been more angry.

“This could have been avoided with the support of the government. We followed all the AHS guidelines. This is not my fault. This is your fault, Jason. This is your fault, Adriana,” reads the post.

Macdonald goes on to invite Kenney and Education Minister LaGrange to visit the school, sit in on a class and speak with students and staff.