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Now that the Alberta Distance Learning Centre (ADLC) in Barrhead has completely ceased operations, it remains unclear what will happen to the building that once housed the school, which is owned by the provincial government.
Now that the ADLC has completely ceased operations as of the end of last week, the building now sits largely vacant, save for some government employees working out of the basement.
During the Barrhead Chamber of Commerce meeting on June 17, Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock MLA Glenn van Dijken was asked if he knew of any plans to utilize the building.
Van Dijken said he didn’t know of any such plans aside, though he suggested that the building's fate would be in the hands of Alberta Infrastructure.
Hadyn Place, press secretary for the Minister of Infrastructure, stated in a June 17 e-mail that no decision has been made regarding the future of the building at this time.
Place stated that once the current programming had ended and the ADLC staff had moved out, Alberta Infrastructure would consult with other government departments to see if the building could be used by another government service, program or agency.
The multi-story building was originally constructed in the early 1980s, with a grand opening ceremony being hosted in June 1984.
Its purpose in those days was to house the Alberta Correspondence School, which changed its name to the Alberta Distance Learning Centre in 1991, and it was constructed specifically with distance education in mind.
Since 1997, the province had an agreement with the Pembina Hills School Division to operate the ADLC.
In early 2020, the province announced that that agreement would be concluded in two years. However, Pembina Hills opted to shut down the ADLC at the end of 2020-2021 due to funding being cut back by more than half.
