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With the second semester of the academic year starting this week, the Calgary Board of Education will get phase two of a federal grant totalling $45.7 million, an increase of $1.2 million from the original $44.5 million announced last fall.
The Calgary Catholic School District is also rolling out the second half of its $20 million in federal money, as both local boards confirm funds will be prioritized for substitute teachers to spell off the hundreds of staff being forced into ongoing isolation, as well as increased classroom cleaning, masks, hand sanitizer and online learning resources.
“The funding we’ve received is definitely a blessing to help with additional staff, cleaning and to help serve all our students,” said Bryan Szumlas, chief superintendent for CCSD.
“But as we look to next year, there will be continuing financial challenges because the vaccine hasn’t been approved for children under 16 years of age.
“Yet we know young kids are testing positive for COVID. So looking ahead, even to next year, we will still be dealing with the difficult reality of positive cases and isolations.”
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Why some snowbirds are flying south despite the pandemic and travel restrictions
What do some birds, butterflies and whales have in common with tens of thousands of older Canadians? They all participate in an annual migration by heading south for the winter.
While we don’t have systems in place to know exactly how many Canadian snowbirds there are, a recent report from Statistics Canada suggests that at least 375,000 typically go to the United States and Mexico each year, not counting other popular destinations.
