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Friday, April 12, 2013
MOE chewing on about 300 comments on dirty dirt plan Peter W. Rusland
News Leader Pictorial
F
Ross Armour
The Alex Aitken Elementary School family wants to see the school remain open — something that’s not a sure thing under one of the School District 79 restructure options on the table.
Aitken family wants to protect ‘the whole package’ Ross Armour
News Leader Pictorial
T
he potential closure of Alex Aitken Elementary is likely to leave many staring into an unknown abyss, according to the school’s Parent Advisory Committee. Cowichan school board will announce officially on May 15 what model it has decided to go with and the middle school configuration would bring the curtain down on the North Cowichan school. “Change is always unknown,” said Karen Dietrich from the Aitken PAC. “The options are, if the school closes, moving to another school, going to private schooling, or moving completely out of the district.” The middle school option would see a model
set up consisting of kindergarten to Grade 5 elementary schools, Grade 6 to 8 middle schools and Grade 9 to 12 secondary schools. “For my family, we purchased our house to be in this catchment area so I chose it for very specific reasons,” said Leah Smith, also from Alex Aitken’s PAC. “I would have to look very strongly at what our options are (if the school was to be closed).” “Everybody has their own unique story as to why they’re attracted to Alex Aitken. I think there’s something unique with the culture and environment that’s provided here that speaks to a lot of families,” she said. Smith commended the school’s strong emphasis on social responsibility as well as parent and community involvement, and praised the apparent high expectations approach toward
academics. “Alex Aitken’s the whole package. We have some programs that only happen here. The teachers all come together to learn things to see higher grades. So with all the various pieces, it creates a very unique school.” A statement from Alex Aitken’s PAC given to News Leader Pictorial reads: “Alex Aitken is highly regarded in the Cowichan Valley, even School District 79, in section C2 of their report acknowledges this statement in its Impact on Community. (It) has always maintained a full student body, we attract and retain students in the district. “That is why we find it unfathomable that School District 79 would consider closing the doors on one of the most successful schools in the district, both academically and socially.” more on page 7
inal word on the draft permit for a controversial soil treatment dump in Shawnigan Lake — and the 300 official submissions it sparked — rests with a provincial bureaucrat. It appears authority rests with Ministry of Environment official Hubert Bunce, not environment minister Terry Lake. “The Environmental Management Act, which governs decisions made by statutory decision makers, does not require the minister to sign off, and the minister does not have the ability to overturn a decision made on sound technical merits,” MOE staff told the News Leader Pictorial in an email. About 300 comments from Cowichanians about the South Island Aggregates proposal to dump tonnes of contaminated soil into a Stebbings Road treatment quarry were received by Wednesday’s deadline and are being sifted by provincial staff in the ministry’s Nanaimo office. The Ministry of Environment received submissions from the local government, First Nations, health officials and community about SIA’s proposed plan, widely opposed by south-end folks. A number include specific technical information needing careful consideration against the conditions in the draft permit, staff said. “There are three possible outcomes based on their review: the statutory decision maker may choose to issue the permit as is; issue a permit with further modifications or additional conditions; or deny the (SIA) permit application. more on page 7
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