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Case being made to avoid school closures in SD8

Nelson Daily Editor
By Nelson Daily Editor
December 5th, 2010

By Timothy Schafer, The Nelson Daily

School closures in the Slocan Valley aren’t on the agenda of the Slocan Valley Facilities Committee’s current review of schools and services in the area, said the school district’s superintendent.

Instead, Jeff Jones of Kootenay Lake School District No. 8 said the committee is looking at the best way to use the valley’s schools through the facilities review underway right now.

“What my stance has been is the conversation started with potential school closures, rather than starting with, ‘How do we provide public education services for students in the Slocan Valley?’” he said.

“I would tell you right now that the committee is not discussing school closures as a possibility, but that doesn’t mean that that won’t come into the trustee’s discussion.”

Last January and February, the district held community meetings in Slocan and Winlaw as they contemplated closing either Winlaw Elementary or W.E. Graham Community School in Slocan.

In March of 2010, then superintendent Pat Dooley recommended to the SD8 board of trustees to give schools in the Slocan Valley a year to work together to come up with solutions to potential school closures.

Although the committee is still meeting with advisory committees, and the final report on the schools isn’t due to the board until January, Jones said when the ultimate decision is made the board of trustees needs to be sure on several issues.

“The board will be looking at how those buildings are being used, what their effect is, what the population of the school is, how they provide programming at the school and how students are dispersed throughout the district,” he said.

“It’s really hard to tell because it is the board of trusses that will make the decision (to close schools), because they need to see all of the information.”

The board of education is entrusted with public tax dollars to meet the needs of all students, said Jones, so it’s a challenge for them to be fiscally responsible and accountable.

They will need to determine if there is underutilized space and can SD8 use the funds differently and if it is the best way the school district can accommodate students.

Enrollment and utilization rates in the Slocan Valley area of the district have been declining and, in the face of a nearly $1 million funding shortfall in 2009, the district saw the opportunity to save money by closing a school.

However, in March of 2010, the district had been given about $900,000 in extra funding by the Province, which allowed for some “wiggle room” in the budget.

At a school board meeting in late February, Slocan Valley trustee Barbara Lindsay put forward a motion that the board of trustees give the Slocan Valley parents a year to find solutions and alternatives to closure. The motion passed.

editor@thenelsondaily.com

 

 

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