Alberta’s fast-track school building plan is flawed, NDP says [Video]

The UCP’s fast-tracked school building program reveals a flawed approach to public education and provincial governance, the NDP’s education critic charged last week.

The $8.6-billion investment in school spaces is certainly needed, said Amanda Chapman. But the announcement underlines poor planning from a government that should have seen an overcrowding crisis coming and acted before it arrived, she said.

“It’s like they’re just pinging back and forth from crisis to crisis,” said Chapman, the member for Calgary-Beddington. “I’m not seeing a lot of forethought. I’m not seeing a lot of planning.”

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First announced in a Sept. 17 televised address by Premier Danielle Smith, the School Construction Accelerator Program more than triples previously announced spending of $2.1 billion. The province estimates up to 30 new schools, and up to eight modernizations and replacements will be approved …