Editor: On Tuesday, along with a select group of Routley area residents. I participated in a combined Langley School District/Township of Langley meeting, which dealt with the elimination of a promised school in the Routley area of Langley.
The residents of Langley are fighting for a school for their children in our area. This school has been part of the Routley Community Plan since 2001.
In 2008, the plan to build a school in the Routley area was taken out of the Langley School District capital plan for reasons that are still unknown to us. At no time was a safety audit done on our area, and now the Ministry of Education, Langley School District, and Township are asking our children to cross the the road at two of the top 10 of Langley’s crash sites (according to the RCMP), in order to get to school.
Langley School District policy 3850 requires students in the elementary school system to walk 3.2 km before they are eligible for busing. I hope that the people we trust the welfare of our children to actually know children, but to me, making an early elementary student walk 3.19 km to school to start their day and 3.19 km home at the end of the day is ridiculous.
It is even more so, because crossing the road at No. 4 and No. 5 of the most dangerous crash sites in Langley is part of that walk. For those “fortunate” enough to live beyond the 3.2 km boundary, they wlll qualify for busing that costs the area residents an additional (up to) $525 per year, on top of already very high property taxes.
The Routley area needs a school and we want a school. Nothing less will do.
I now invite and challenge Premier Christy Clark, Education Minister George Abbott and his ministry staff, the Langley board of education trustees, the Township mayor and councillors, and all Routley-area residents to join me to walk in our children’s shoes to our local area school.
We will be starting this walk at 198 Street and 72 Avenue at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, June 7. People taking part will have to be on time, as we are allowing just enough time to get our children to school on time. They should bring a packed lunch and wear comfortable shoes.
On Tuesday evening, we sat through a presentation by the board of education that discussed “assets” and the fiscal impacts of school development. At no time was there any thought or reference to the safety of our children. This is fundamentally wrong for a governing body which is elected and engaged in the welfare of our children to not even consider this.
Rena, Rod,
Fergus (age 7) and Ronan (age 4) Terry,
Langley
