School District #85 will be moving ahead with plans to close Woss Lake Elementary School at the end of the year. The school district held a public meeting in Woss on March 8 to get feedback from the community about the closure. Approximately 30 people attended. The board has given first and second readings to a bylaw to close the school unless the minimum enrolment of seven students is met for the 2016/17 year. “We have not received any more registrations and the third reading is scheduled for April,” said School District #85 Superintendent of Schools Scott Benwell.  “The board continues to point to seven students as the minimum number to keep a school operating in Woss,” Benwell said. (Seven students is the financial break-even point.) Regional District of Mount Waddington staff have been working with the community to encourage employers to hire staff with school-aged children and to make sure that residents are aware of the potential impacts on the community if the school closes. Western Forest Products “indicated they preferred to hire locally, but they made no commitment,” said RDMW Administrator Greg Fletcher. Woss Lake Elementary School was also up for closure in 2010.

North Island Gazette