Fonds 0113 - East Smoky School Division No. 54 fonds

The East Smoky School Division No. 54 was established February 19, 1945 by Proclamation of the Alberta Government Department of Education. The division covered schools east of the Smoky River with Valleyview as its eastern border, which in 1945 was 13 school districts: Calais No. 3992, Edson Trail No. 4082, East Smoky No. 4198, Ridgevalley No 4563, Sturgeon Heights No. 4606, Darwin No. 4639, Mountain Springs No. 4640, Clarkson Valley No. 4663, Smoky Valley No. 4682, Cornwall No. 4700, Simonette No. 4750, Ravenna No. 4822, and Sturgeon No. 4858. Until the division was formed, each school district operated under its own board: building schools, hiring teachers and collecting its own taxes. The formation of a school division was seen as a way for the schools to have collective power and economies of scale. Capital projects, school supplies, financial records and hiring of teachers was a responsibility of the division, leaving the local parent board able to concentrate on the upkeep and day to day operation. Mr. Carl B. Johnson was the first Superintendent of the East Smoky School Division and Robert Mehlum was the secretary-treasurer, operating out of the divisional office in DeBolt. He was responsible for getting supplies, both educational and janitorial, out to the teachers in each small school. Under the direction of the division, schools which were still using outdoor washrooms and barrel wood stoves for heating were modernized with furnaces and indoor plumbing. As teachers became harder to recruit, the small schools were combined into centralized schools, the final move being to Ridgevalley. With more settlers coming into the Peace Country, East Smoky School Division continued to expand as new school districts were added. Later the division was enlarged to include Valleyview and Fox Creek, and a new divisional office built at Valleyview, then a more centralized location. Eventually it was responsible for nine schools with students from approximately 75 school districts. About the mid 90s, school divisions in the Province of Alberta were re-organized, and the East Smoky School Division area was divided between Peace Wapiti School Division and the Northern Gateway Division.