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Creston takes on one property being disposed of by SD 8

Claire Paradis
By Claire Paradis
April 18th, 2018

Old buildings, unused pieces of land and tennis courts are being put up for sale by Kootenay Lake School District 8 (SD 8).

The District recently made the announcement there would be some property sold, including the Nelson School Board Office, two former Nelson schools and some pieces of land no longer used by SD 8.

The School District Office in Nelson currently houses the SD 8 staff and board, but Chair Lenora Trenaman said a new space will be found once the building sells.

“We’ve got potential space, and we are expecting that,” Trenaman told The Nelson Daily. “We’re going to be moving into space in other existing school district buildings.”

In response to declining enrolment, the decision comes as a cost-saving measure that will reduce the deferred maintenance of the properties, travel expenses, as well as heat and light costs for buildings.

This could mean a reduction in labour costs for the school district, said Secretary-Treasurer Kim Morris, one that is provided for in their collective agreement with CUPE. The District is planning to put the savings in labour into programming and other classroom resources, said Trenaman.

All sales will need approval from the Ministry of Education, and revenues from the sales can only be used for capital costs, said Morris. She also made it clear there was no urgent timetable for the sales, that finding the right people to work with and form agreements with was the priority.

In Creston, the School District has come to a collaborative agreement around the use of the Creston Education Centre (CEC). The Centre houses several non-SD 8 programs like Strong Start, Creston Wildflower, pre- and post-natal programs, and Creston Homelinks that are important to the community. In the new agreement, the School District will become the tenant rather than the building owner. 

“The CEC is highly valued by the community,” said Chair Trenaman. “We understood how valuable it is to have one location for all these services, which is why there was a consideration for partnership…We have agreed to a proposal, but the negotiation still has to be worked out.”

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