A Bridge Lake parent is unhappy with a recent decision by School District # 27 (SD27) school board.
At their Jan. 26 school board meeting, SD27 school trustees decided to start a 90-day public-consultation process for the potential closure of Bridge Lake Elementary School at the end of the current school year.
In considering the potential closure, the board stated it considered the following factors:
• Enrolment
There were 27 students in 2013/14; 20 students in 2014/15; six students in 2015/16, and there are 13 eligible students in the Bridge Lake School catchment area.
• Budget
Ministry grants for rural schools and assists school boards by providing extra financial support for lower enrolments.
Schools with an enrolment between nine and 110 students receive $162,400, but when the enrolment declines to eight or fewer, the Ministry grant is reduced to $77,325, which is less than 50 per cent.
• Proximity to another school
Bridge Lake Elementary School is 38 kilometres away from Horse Lake Elementary School.
School board chair Tanya Guenther notes that since 2013, the school board has closed four schools due to district-wide school enrolment capacity and budget-constraint issues, and one school due to damage caused by flooding.
“It is disappointing to now be faced with considering the closure of the Bridge Lake Elementary School due to declining enrolment. We understand this may have a major impact to the community of Bridge Lake.”
Bridge Lake Elementary School Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) chair Piri DeVries says she is disappointed about the way SD27 handled the decision-making process because the parents were not notified the trustees would be discussing the issue at a board meeting.
“We didn’t hear anything about it until it was done and they gave us one day’s notice to come to a meeting at the school to talk about. I was away at a conference in Arizona and the other parents weren’t able to go either.”
DeVries says they will have a PAC meeting next week and will be talking with the numerous community organizations that want to keep the school open.
Parents, community groups and other stakeholders can provide input for the next 81 days by letter (School District No. 27; 350 North 2nd Avenue; Williams Lake, B.C.; V2G 1Z9) or by e-mail at feedback@sd27.bc.ca.
Folks can also attend a public forum at the Bridge Lake Elementary School on March 2, starting at 6:30 p.m.
The final decision on the potential closure is expected to be announced at the April 26 board meeting.
