“Here she goes again!”  Is probably what you are thinking as you read yet another blog about our upcoming Alberta election. Yes, I am writing about it again.  Why?  Because we need to fight to save not only our students but our school boards and our schools.  The PCs have gone too far this time and now they are blaming school boards for the back lash.

The government is telling the boards to use their 1/2 billion dollar reserves to help with cuts.  Really?  Maybe they should do the same thing and use their own reserves to pay off the deficit.  It is easier said than done.  Yes, the reserves are there for reasons such as this, but if they are used now what happens next time cuts like this are made?  It is for this reason we need to fight.

Did you know that School Boards operate at the discretion of the Minister of Education?  We have a number of school boards across Alberta who have come out in opposition of the government cuts.  Although this is, in itself, a good show of support it can also put the boards at risk.   Because the Minister can dissolve school boards at his discretion, we need to fight to protect them.

How do we go about protecting our school boards and our schools?  We start letter writing campaigns, we show our solidarity by finding non-violent ways to protest, we let the government know how we feel.  We have to stand behind them and be their voice.  We need to show our solidarity and fight hard to let the government know we won’t take this lying down.  ALL children deserve the right to an education. ALL children deserve the right to an equal education regardless of their mental or physical abilities.  ALL children deserve the right to maintain their dignity.

WE NEED TO FIGHT AND WE NEED TO START NOW.

Thank you and I am outta here.