NEWS PENTICTON WESTERN
www.pentictonwesternnews.com
3
news
Paying it forward on Random Acts of Kindness Day
VOL. 49 ISSUE 86
9
Stop Worrying! Get Driving with YESCARCREDIT.CA A Division of Parkers Chrysler Dodge Jeep. DL. #5523
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2015
entertainment Halloween haunts at local house
15
sports Penticton Vees new addition
NEWS
aims to get play back on track
PENTICTON WESTERN
CREEKSIDE INSANITORIUM — Beetlejuice, who is really Erik Laflamme, spends some time with this witchy woman at his haunted house display at 796 Eckhardt Ave. East. Again this year, for those with the courage to go there, the residence will be open for spooky business for three nights starting Thursday. For story and photo see page 9. Mark Brett/ Western News
DEADLINE LOOMING ON SCHOOL OPTIONS Dan Walton Western News
School District 67 will be deciding which public schools in Penticton and Summerland to keep open during a meeting on Jan. 20. In addition to challenges surrounding declining enrolment numbers, there is an imbalance between educational offerings depending on which catchment area student lives in. To address both issues, some options propose that Penticton Secondary reconfigure to take all Grade 10 to 12 students in Penticton, drop programming for Grades 8 and 9 and alter Princess Margaret to be a Grade 6 to 9 school. Leslie Lacroix, a teacher at Penticton Secondary, said there may be more to consider than what can be measured on paper. “If you actually go and talk to the students (at Princess Margaret), they love their teach-
ers, they love the relationships they have with their teachers. I know we don’t live in an ideal world where funding just comes through the pipelines, but please keep it in mind that there needs to be a balance between the money savings, but also the best thing for our kids, because you might find you’re paying a whole lot more down the road.” The district laid out a short list of options to close and reconfigure schools within its boundaries during a public presentation on Oct. 26. The consideration of school closures and reconfiguration in the district was prompted by dwindling enrolment numbers, which the Ministry of Education uses to gauge financial support. Sixteen of the district’s 19 schools are operating under capacity and enrolment is projected to lessen. As a result, over $3 million in cuts are expected over the next three years. At least $750,000 will be
cut each following year if capacity levels do not improve. Although school closures can create stress, most parents seemed understanding of the need to address School District 67’s growing budget challenges, and there was a strong sense of relief in keeping Naramata and Kaleden off the chopping block. “Unfortunately they’ve got to cut the budget somewhere, so there’s going to have to be a tough choice. They’ve put a lot of thought into it and I really appreciate the options that they gave us,” said Stacey Hanna from Naramata, who has children in Grade 4 and 6. “From the Naramata perspective I feel comfortable with the way things are, but it’s going to be affecting a lot of other people.” As a visual display of support, Hanna was among a dozen people wearing a bright blue Naramata jersey at the meeting.
25% off Selected BBQ’s! Large BBQ inventory clear out, All makes and models to choose from, Just look for the pink tags!
150 Fairview Place, Penticton 250.493.1233
While the schools in Naramata and Kaleden are both operating under capacity, their strain on district resources is partially offset by a grant provided to rural schools. Nonetheless savings could still be realized by closing the schools, but cutting costs in those two communities seemed to be less of a priority. “They are the backbones of a community. We all know that small rural schools generally are the centre of the community,” said superintendent Wendy Hyer. “The conversation was, ‘is that the first thing that we do, or are there other things we can do in larger centres to look at the amount of spaces that are available?’ It doesn’t mean that down the road we won’t be considering it, but certainly the board has chosen not to look at it at this time.” See SCHOOLS on PG. 4