Part of the series Who says…
Written by Léo Gaumont, published on 2015-06-15.
Often times, the end is not really an end as much as a new opportunity to continue in a new and different direction.
Building on a foundation that God is, that He created the universe and that He ultimately is responsible for our children’s being, should provide ample substance upon which to build our faith. This lengthy series will identify the secular thinking that has eroded that faith.
Bible Reference: Rom. 8:18-28
Well, another year has passed us by and provided more opportunity to learn more things about more things! A year full of challenges and successes, all of which make us stronger and better able to serve the home education community. As there have been some major changes that have affected us this past year, I decided to address the main ones and to provide a link for a more detailed account of what happened to Education Unlimited.
To start, we must first discuss the end! Faye and I were very saddened to be informed at the end of March that the Morinville Christian School had decided not to renew its contract with Education Unlimited for the 2015-2016 school year. Education Unlimited had been contracted to provide home education services on behalf of the Morinville Christian School since 1999, the first year of our operation. Morinville Christian School had played a key role as our board from the very beginning. We were truly disappointed that this had come to an end after so many productive years.
To help you understand what happened, it may be necessary to provide you with a bit of an analogy. When you see a tractor-trailer unit, you see the tractor (representing Education Unlimited) pulling the trailer (representing the parents and students we serve). What most parents do not see or concern themselves about is that the tractor requires a motor (a school) to enable it to pull the trailer. The Education Unlimited tractor motor (MCS) needed replacing. We thank God for miraculously and quickly providing us a “new motor” in the form of the Olds Mountain View Christian School (OMVCS), who have clearly demonstrated a kindred heart and a common motivation in protecting parental rights and Christian education, without need for compromise. This new school has enabled Education Unlimited to carry on with its ministry with no perceptible change to our service for our families. During this change we discovered that our parents were not only very comfortable with Education Unlimited but committed to going forward with us in our ongoing struggle for parental freedom and the determination to teach their children their way, to the glory of God.
(Click for a more in-depth coverage of this topic)
The 2014-15 school year was our first full year with no carry-over of parent resource funding. All our families started with a zero balance and ended with a zero balance. This was necessary to simplify a very complicated process that involved a lot of work and confusion. Parents, staff, school, accountants and government indicated that the carry-over was more trouble than it was worth. As far as parent resources funding is concerned, everything remains the same as before except that we ask parents to take a greater responsibility in planning ahead.
The year 2015 seemed to have started with a bang that led to some pretty scary stuff, including Bill 10 that effectively strips parents of having any authority or say in what goes on in any school in this province, including faith-based private schools. This legislation came into effect on June 1, and even though it has no practical application in home education, should concern all parents of this province. You can learn more about this dangerous law by going to http://parentchoice.ca/gay-straight-alliances-pce-statement/ or http://www.jccf.ca/published-reports/.
May saw a very significant provincial election replace a forty-four year dynasty Progressive Conservative Party government with a majority New Democratic Party one. Time will tell how this will affect home education but two things happened as a result of the PC’s not being re-elected. The cap on funding and the disparaging home education grants were both done away with, resulting in home education being treated fairly in grant distribution and with a small raise. Thanks to all of you who took part in our web based campaign. I am sure your efforts had something to do with these positive decisions.
The disqualification of home educating students who transition to a post-secondary level remains a battle that we continue to fight. Following our web campaign that reached about 4000 people and generated nearly a thousand letters, two more letters have been written, escalating this concern to a higher level, involving more players. Your continued prayer support and dialogue with your MLA is appreciated in this matter.
Who says change is bad? Those afraid of change, I guess. Our new funding policies are appreciated by the vast majority of our parents, who understand the importance of being good stewards. We have a new government that at this time can best be described as: not the old government. We don’t have to concern ourselves about receiving less for notifying with a private school board, nor about not getting any funding for new students. And best of all, Education Unlimited is now working with a school that shares our heart. I would say change was good as it gave us opportunity to learn to trust more in God. Agreed?
Have a great summer. I will resume my “blogging” in the fall!