In a document spanning some 268 of the 1,500 pages that Trustees will review prior to making a decision to possibly shut down 3 Elementary Schools in Williams Lake and 1 Elementary and 1 Junior Secondary School in 100 Mile House -- School District #27 (Cariboo-Chilcotin) has now released the summary of public submissions on the 'Initial Options' report and also comments given by the public/parents at the schools slated for closure held between Oct - Nov 2012
Themes I found in the documents include:
* Strong support for middle school in Williams Lake (Grade 7-9) or K-8 and 9-12 School systems
* Next to no support for a Grade 7-12 School in Williams Lake
* Concerns about supports for vulnerable or First Nations' students
During meetings at schools targeted for closure, comments included:
* Close Cataline Elementary, sell to TRU and send kids at Cataline to Nesika while kids in Fox Mountain catchment area can go to Glendale Elementary
* Glendale Elementary offers "different' school environment (more student support) and needs to remain open
* Thought Stream process not indicative of true feelings of parents
* Why is the Board so aggressive on keeping Marie Sharpe Elementary over other elementary schools open?
* How come Donna Barnett says 'Funding Protection' is not terminated?
Meanwhile - Bob Simpson who attended the Wildwood Elementary School Closure meeting in late November said to the attendees:
I am here to listen and see what role I can play. Seismic decisions have
nothing to do with these people. Province has large deficit. MLA’s don’t get
fired for deficit. Trustees would get fired if they did this. Constraint put on
school trustees. Anger needs to be directed through my office for
funding/seismic issues. Unfair to claim the trustees aren’t listening. Most of
these people have full time jobs. Many are advocates for education and are
trying to meet the requirements of the law. I believe community schools are
crucial. Two things that concern me: First Nations component and First
Nations retention. You have a retention strategy here that may assist with
retention. Transportation to Cataline is an issue. Partnership to determine how
that might exist. Unfair to push the ideas onto the parents. Staff should be
providing how the school could respond to address the issues. My message to
government is the same. Funding needs to be examined. We are coming up
to an election and people need to get involved. Hold people to account. Make
it an issue and highlight it.
Finally - the document released yesterday includes the 10 Year Planning document and an administrative review which shows administrative staffing is on par with similiar-sized school districts with SD #27 (Cariboo-Chilcotin)
Future meetings of the Board of Education (SD #27 - Cariboo-Chilcotin) include:
Dec 18th, 2012 - Williams Lake at 6:30pm (350 North 2nd Ave)
Jan 8th, 2013 - Peter Skeene Ogden in 100 Mile House (200 - 7th Ave)
Jan 15th, 2013 - Willams Lake at 6:30pm (350 North 2nd Ave)
Jan 22nd, 2013 - Willams Lake at 6:30pm (350 North 2nd Ave)
View the document below:
Summary of Public Comments for Initial Options report
1 comment:
What a tough position the trustees are in.
With declining enrollment over the past few years and also projected declines for the next several years to come, schools do have to close to ensure that the remaining students receive a quality education.
Instead of saying don't close my school, perhaps parents could suggest which schools should close.
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