Dear editor:
Most of us are always looking forward but rarely review the past.
It has been three years since the North Island School District trustees voted on a split decision to close the school in Quatsino after more than 100 years of operations. Fears at the time were this would naturally drive families away from the community and discourage new families from moving to this beautiful hamlet.
Unlike other school closings in B.C., these families had no choice but to move once the school closed.
Now we can see this is exactly what happened.
At the time the community pleaded with the district, but the fact the district would still receive the funding from the government even if the Quatsino school closed and could use that for the other schools in its district proved too tempting.
One can still see the efforts to save the school at http://www.quatsino.org/schoolclosing.
The parents and community leaders still appreciate and remember the trustee members who had the courage to vote that the school stay open.
Lars Justinen
Nampa, Idaho (former Quatsino resident)
