Dewdney Elementary School will not close by the end of June, but it still eventually may.
Mission Public Schools’ board of trustees said Tuesday that the closure consideration process at the rural school, located about 10 minutes east of Mission, has been suspended.
According to board chair Edie Heinrichs, it was due to inaccurate information presented to trustees.
The board was informed by still unidentified members of the school and area community that people were comfortable with the idea of amalgamating Dewdney and Deroche schools.
“That’s been proven wrong,” said Heinrichs Tuesday.
At the April 16 board meeting where the closure consideration motion was approved, trustees said they were approached with the idea to close. But parents and teachers in the audience balked at that statement.
“Our apologies for upsetting a whole community. We should have done our due diligence,” said Heinrichs.
However, Dewdney, along with all other schools in the district, will still be part of a review in September requested by the Ministry of Education.
“The ministry has instructed the board to engage the community in a district-wide consultation process regarding the potential closure of schools. The public process will identify the problems faced by the board and build the community’s understanding of the issues. Options to address and resolve concerns will be developed which could include identifying schools, including Dewdney, to be formally considered for closure,” read the board release.
