LETTER: Nancy Greene Raine takes the school board to task
Dear Chairman Ganzert: I served as a School Trustee some years ago, and I understand the difficulties that budget cuts entail, but surely somewhere along the line, the educational and social needs of a community must be taken into consideration. I do not feel, however, that the Board of School District 20 should move students...
OPEN LETTER: Grappling with a 'terrible choice'
Dear trustees I am writing regarding the difficult decision facing you in regards to schools in Rossland. I urge you to consider a few additional points in making your decision. Your decision will affect the quality of education for all students in your school district. It is not just a Rossland issue! Parents and citizens ...
An OPEN LETTER TO SD 20 TRUSTEES: A community in disbelief
To the members of the SD20 board, After receiving the news from your monday night board meeting regarding the voting out of Option 1 - K-12 at RSS, it is fair to say the community of Rossland is in utter disbelief. I was one of those people who believed in you all on January 15th when you said you came into this process...
LETTER: Keeping an eye on the ball....but which ball??
Dear editor, With all the focus on the Jason Ward affair and the prospect of school closures in Rossland, we shouldn’t lose sight of other concerns--like our taxes. We still don’t know the final cost of the Columbia / Washington project and its impact on taxes. (When are we going to be informed on this?) It has been reported...
LETTER: Why didn't you say it to our face?
Dear editor, There was no giant roar of disapproval from the small crowd gathered to hear SD20's first reading of the school closure bylaw, when all but three of the trustees voted to defeat the option to keep K-12 in Rossland at RSS. And that's exactly the way the trustees wanted it. They didn't want to face angry questions....
LETTER: RSS vote an 'act of cowardice' and a 'slap in the face'
Dear editor, The citizens of Rossland have spent many years and long hours fighting to keep K-12 education in our community. In the over 175 submissions that were sent to the board of SD20 last month, the vast majority accepted a compromise and favoured closing MacLean Elementary, with K-12 at RSS. Over 500 people came to the...
OPEN LETTER: If SD20 won't look out for our kids, then let us do it ourselves
Dear School District 20: On Jan 15th we were subjected to yet another meeting regarding the funding crisis in SD20. It started as usual with the board presenting numbers and charts that show a) the declining enrolment and b) the cost savings associated with various school closure scenarios. As for a) there was an admission...
LETTER: MLA wants you to help nominate Order of British Columbia Honours Excellence recipients for 2013
Dear editor, The Order of British Columbia offers British Columbians a golden opportunity to take part in the public recognition of individuals who demonstrate outstanding achievement, excellence and distinction in their particular fields of endeavour. Nominations are now being received for the 2013 Order of British Columbia. If you know anyone in this community who […]
LETTER: A request for action from council
Dear fellow residents, I arrived at the last council meeting at 7:05pm and missed the public input period. What I would have liked to have said to our Mayor and Council is the following: The meeting Jan 4, 2013 at the Seniors Center with the mayor to discuss what happened with the Arena project and Jason Ward generated...
LETTER: You do the math
Pretend you are back at school and your teacher assigns you the following math problem: School District 20 is facing another huge fiscal crisis due to government down-loading of costs and needs to cut its budget by $1,750,000 and has decided that it wants to close some schools before sharing all of the potential options it ...