School closure meeting draws as many as 200
By Kyra Hoggan
Local representatives are saying they’re surprised and gratified that as many as 200 people attended a meeting last night to discuss School District 20 (SD 20) budget cuts and the possible closure of Castlegar Primary School (serving Kindergarten to Grade 2 students).
Castlegar SD 20 trustee Jo-Ann Bursey said the meeting went late as well, until almost 10:30 p.m., as residents offered feedback, suggestions and questions regarding the two options with which they were presented by trustees.
“There are really only two scenarios for that building (Castlegar Primary); either close it down – and it was pretty clear last night that no one wants that – or the second proposal would have a principal at Twin Rivers and a vice-principal at Castlegar Primary.”
She said the two facilities sharing a single administration would save the board roughly $75,000, and her take from the meeting was that most people would choose option two, if the status quo is not an option. (for more details, see http://castlegarsource.com/news/castlegars-turn-school-closure-meeting-councillor-counsels-against-municipal-funding-schools-22#.UPmmS6x5HRY ).
“Where, at the end of the day, the vote is going to go with the board, I have no clue – I’m hoping the board will decide on the second option,” she said.
A resolution will be brought before the board for first reading on Feb. 4, with second reading Feb. 22 in Rossland (RSS) and Feb. 23 in Castlegar (Twin Rivers), both at 6:30 p.m. Adoption will be put to a vote Feb. 25.
Between now and then, the board will be meeting with four representatives per school from each school’s Parent Advisory Council to receive input.
She said some parents indicated that it’s time for trustees to start lobbying the provincial government for more education funding.
“We lobby the government on a regular basis,” she said. “Most of the time, to be honest, it’s like beating a dead horse. The only thing we haven’t done is go camp on their doorstep.”
Others, she said, focussed on revenue generation alternatives, while still others wanted to know why no Trail school was on the chopping block (she said that’s because there’s no elementary school in Trail anymore).
“Every single question was recorded, every single one will be transcribed and will be posted on the school district website – anyone who couldn’t make it to the meeting last night can go to our website and read what came out of the meeting.”
Castlegar resident Stuart Thomson is the father of three, with one child attending Kindergarten at Castlegar Primary, and he said take-away message of the meeting is that no one’s happy about the current situation.
“The problem is, there didn’t seem to be any concrete alternatives brought forward,” he said. “A main concern also seemed to be the quality of portables and them being used as a permanent solution.”
He said it’s his perception that portables are intended to solve the facilities problem by creating classrooms that can be opened and closed according to enrolment levels – but he said he thinks that’s shortsighted and no real solution at all.
In fact, Thomson said he’d rather the board redirected their energy, not just to lobbying the government for more funding, but also into mobilizing residents and communities to lobby as well, and aligning with other rural districts across the province to create a voting block the government can’t easily ignore.
As for solutions presented, Thomson said there wasn’t much from which to choose … but he agreed with Bursey’s assessment of what would constitute the lesser of evils.
“In my mind, there was only one option that was even remotely viable, which was making Castlegar Primary into a satellite campus of Twin Rivers,” he said.
Staying tuned to The Source for more coverage as the situation develops.
