Landlord offers cash to keep school open
Published: March 25, 2008 at 5:52 PM
EDMONTON, Alberta, March 25 (UPI) -- A Canadian landlord is offering a $100,000 guarantee that he can boost enrollment at an Edmonton, Alberta, school with an uncertain future.
Reg Appleyard, executive director of Meadowcroft Housing Society of Edmonton, told public school trustees that he will guarantee that 110 students are enrolled in Woodcroft Elementary School by Sept. 15, and the society will pay the school board nearly $5,000 for every student short of the goal, up to $98,224, the Edmonton, Alberta, Journal reported Tuesday.
The school board is set to decide in June whether to keep the school open despite low enrollment in recent years.
Appleyard said the mixed-income development is now requiring new residents to make a verbal agreement to send their children to the school.
"We've already started signing up people that will do that," Appleyard said.
"We bought this complex 30 years ago, and we've always set aside funds each year for crises or emergencies," he said. "We feel that this is probably the biggest crisis we've faced in 30 years, and so we are prepared to use some of our reserve funds to try to solve the Woodcroft Elementary School problem."
Reg Appleyard, executive director of Meadowcroft Housing Society of Edmonton, told public school trustees that he will guarantee that 110 students are enrolled in Woodcroft Elementary School by Sept. 15, and the society will pay the school board nearly $5,000 for every student short of the goal, up to $98,224, the Edmonton, Alberta, Journal reported Tuesday.
The school board is set to decide in June whether to keep the school open despite low enrollment in recent years.
Appleyard said the mixed-income development is now requiring new residents to make a verbal agreement to send their children to the school.
"We've already started signing up people that will do that," Appleyard said.
"We bought this complex 30 years ago, and we've always set aside funds each year for crises or emergencies," he said. "We feel that this is probably the biggest crisis we've faced in 30 years, and so we are prepared to use some of our reserve funds to try to solve the Woodcroft Elementary School problem."
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