Jasper schools to reopen mid-September, divisions say: Council approves loosened RV parking restrictions

Schools in Jasper will open for classes on Sept. 17, the local divisions announced on Tuesday. 

Grande Yellowhead Public School Division's chief executive officer and superintendent, Carolyn Lewis, confirmed her staff is preparing for that date during an interview with CTV News Edmonton Tuesday morning. 

Jasper's third school, École Desrochers, is also expected to open then, the Conseil Scolaire Centre-Nord division confirmed via email. 

Although the schools were not structurally damaged when a wildfire burned down about 30 per cent of the mountain park town at the end of July, they needed to be cleaned for smoke, ash and dust. 

The cleaning required is extensive: the ventilation systems need to be inspected and ceiling tiles replaced, as they may have absorbed ash particles. 

Additionally, Lewis said the division is preparing a group of mental health specialists to work with staff before the return, as well as students and families when classes resume. 

Referring to wildfires that affected Grande Yellowhead communities Edson and Wildwood in 2023, Lewis said, "We found that when students and staff returned to school, they really needed to talk about their experiences."

She continued, "We want to give a lot of room and space for that to happen so that people can locate themselves, they can take into consideration what they're going through and what they have gone through."

Lewis expects to have adequate staffing levels, despite about 40 per cent of staff losing their homes in the fire. 

The provincial government and Alberta Education have been working with the division to find temporary housing for those employees. 

"It's just devastating for us. They've been so strong and positive," she commented. "It is our hope that they will all be able to be in the area between Hinton and Jasper to provide and support the school opening."

Families whose homes were destroyed in the fire and who will not be living in Jasper at the start of the school year can register children for school in the community where they are staying. 

Transportation will be available between Hinton and Jasper as of Sept. 17. 

Grande Yellowhead says families are welcome to register their children in Jasper if they move back at a later point in the school year. 

"Our students have had such a traumatic experience that to come back to something that is familiar and ready for them, welcoming for them, is going to be very comforting," Lewis said. 

A virtual town hall for Grande Yellowhead staff is scheduled for Tuesday night and another for families on Wednesday. 

Lewis said additional information will be provided and questions answered then. 

RELAXING RV RESTRICTIONS

Part of Jasper council's efforts to get residents back into town is relaxing the regulations around RV parking in the townsite.

On Tuesday, council unanimously approved an earlier decision by town administration to:

• waive the 72-hour time limit for parking an RV or trailer on a roadway in front of a resident’s home;
• allow trailers to be left unattached on a roadway; and
• allow the use of RVs or trailers as transitional accommodation until Sept. 15.

Residents cannot keep RVs or trailers in public parking lots.

In neighbourhoods with severe fire damage, RVs and trailers cannot be parked on roadways so that emergency and utility workers and contractors can access those areas.

Council stressed these relaxed regulations are only for residents and are temporary.

Council will reexamine the regulations again before the Sept. 15 end date to see if an extension is needed.

Council also unanimously voted to not form a remuneration review committee that had previously been approved before the wildfires.

A review of council pay is required ahead of a municipal election; Jasper's next is scheduled to take place in October 2025.

Instead, council voted to have administration conduct a review and report back.

"The complexity of hosting, coordinating additional committee meetings and incorporating members of the public would be particularly challenging given our limited capacity at this time," Chief Administrative Officer Bill Given said.

In the meeting, Coun. Scott Wilson also brought up that the current and the future Jasper town council will have to put in more work than is considered normal and that the pay should reflect that.

"In Jasper, council member pay is so small that, frankly, even an increase in it in response (to) the additional work that you've been doing is really going to be immaterial to the overall municipal financial picture," Given said.

He suggested looking at how other municipalities that have gone through wildfires like Slave Lake, High River and Wood Buffalo compensated councillors.