School District 51 (SD51) held a District Design 2013 forum to discuss the possibility of re-designing the school district at Perley Elementary School on May 23.
The second of four forums, board trustees and staff addressed parents and concerned residents about the upcoming problems that the school board will face in the future, including declining funds and shifting enrolment.
Board chair Teresa Rezansoff explained that this was a consultation process and no decisions would be made immediately.
“In the beginning, it was about our budget in January,” she explained. “For the first time when we looked at our budget, we knew with a certainty what our budget would be for the next three years.”
The school board anticipates the loss of $230,000 a year over the next three years as the provincial government reduces funding.
Rezansoff also stressed that these discussions were not about closing schools or about eliminating teacher or staff positions, but to make sure students receive the best they can so they can succeed in the future.
“If the present trend continues, we could be facing larger class sizes, more grade class splits, less options for secondary school students and the loss of specialty teachers,” she said.
Part of the discussion included the retirement of Superintendent of Schools Michael Strukoff, Director of Instruction Maxine Ruzicka and Boundary Central Secondary School principal Louise Bayles.
Another reason is the implementation of the B.C. Education Plan, which focuses on five elements: personalized learning for every student, quality teaching and learning, flexibility and choice, high standards, and learning empowered by technology.
The school board explained that the idea of creating a middle school is to address the declining enrollment.
There are currently 1,422 students enrolled in SD51, with 827 elementary students and 595 secondary students.
Since 2001-2002, when there were 2,030 students enrolled, there has been a 32 per cent drop in student enrolment, explained Strukoff.
“Over that time frame you can see the drop we’ve experienced,” he added. “There have been changes related to the economy, from bankruptcies, closures to the sawmill, and low birth rate across the province.”
Projections three years out in 2014-2015 show a student enrolment of 1,285.
Unlike the reception at Christina Lake, where residents were against the idea of a middle school structure, residents in Grand Forks seem open to the idea.
Parents were still concerned about the lengthened school hours for the students who would be entering middle school, and the length of time students would spend on the bus.
The middle school hours would be extended by 30 minutes to reflect the high school hours. This will enable students at the middle school to take specialty courses like woodworking or home economics at the high school.
Perley Elementary School in Grand Forks and Midway Elementary School in the West Boundary would be converted to middle schools covering Grades 6 to 8.
Hutton Elementary School would go from a Kindergarten to Grade 7 school to a Kindergarten to Grade 5 school. Grand Forks Secondary School would become a Grade 9 to 12 school.
SD51 has two more meetings that will occur in the West Boundary communities. There will be a meeting at Greenwood Elementary School on Wednesday, May 30 at 6:30 p.m., and the final meeting at West Boundary Elementary School on Tuesday, June 5 at 6:30 p.m.
The consultation process will continue before a preliminary report will be reviewed in the fall. Once the board decides which direction they want, school board staff will prepare a budget reflecting the changes before seeking further consultation from the communities.
Any decision would not be considered or implemented before September 2013.
Surveys and slides can be found on the SD51’s website at sd51.bc.ca.
For more information, contact the School Board Office at 250-442-8258 or email at info@sd51.bc.ca.
