The board of School District #27 (SD27) is considering a reconfiguration of Lac la Hache Elementary School to accommodate Grades K-3 only.
The board passed a motion at the Feb. 22 meeting to investigate the change, which would result in bussing the school’s Grades 4-7 students to Mile 108 Elementary School.
Trustee Pete Penner says the plan provides some savings by reducing the staffing while not closing the building, as well as maintaining the extra funding that comes in for rural schools.
“It’s a consultation process. The motion was different at the beginning but I asked that we talk to the people first and then make the decision.”
There are both benefits and drawbacks, and he says the board wants the community to help it weigh the pros and the cons.
The school has the capacity for about 100 students yet there are only 38 currently attending, split between two classes, he notes.
That means a lot of mixed grades, and he says sometimes it’s a better learning situation if students can be with more children of their own age and grade level.
The motion also included considering a similar reconfiguration of Wildwood Elementary School, where Grades 4-7 would be sent to Cataline Elementary School.
Trustees Will Van Osch and Patti Baker voted against pursuing the change at this time.
Van Osch says he is not entirely against reconfigurations, but this plan seems to be “reconfiguration in isolation.”
While he understands why some favour the change, Van Osch says targeting just two schools now to save some dollars seems “a bit premature.”
Almost all of the kids in the catchment area attend the Lac la Hache school despite the fairly large area involved, he notes.
He’s concerned that students shifted out of Lac la Hache elementary may instead opt to attend 100 Mile Elementary School or elsewhere, he explains, while part of the rationale behind the plan is to fill up the school in 108 Mile Ranch.
Mile 108 could also overfill if the Prosperity Mine or some other economic stimulus goes through, yet the Lac la Hache school has lots of room, Van Osch says.
“We’re trying to work with the Cariboo Regional District to have the [community] library there as well.”
The way the province is handling capital expenditure, the current building and much of it’s overhead costs would continue to run regardless of the lower student enrolment, he says.
“It would be a heck of a long time before we’d have a building at Lac la Hache that was designed to accommodate K-3.”
The supporting documentation prepared for the board meeting stated that in some ways, the reconfiguration is considered a “best of all possible worlds” solution, citing the significant cost savings, maintaining the school presence in the community and advantages for students through maintaining current educational supports and programs.
Van Osch notes that he can see some reasons behind it but he prefers to have a larger, more consolidated plan for the district first.
“I don’t want to see Lac la Hache closed by any means, so that may be one thing that’s a positive in all of this. At least the younger students from K – 3 won’t be travelling that extra distance to Mile 108.”
Lac la Hache elementary Parent Advisory Council (PAC) president Cindy Grant says she has no comment until after the PAC group meets to discuss the issue.
That will happen at 6 p.m. on March 10 at the school, and she encourages all parents to attend and provide their feedback.
