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Your Classified Connection / Vol. 27 No. 7 February 12, 2016
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evan buhler/market news
Trustees consider closing schools By Tracy Hughes
market news staff
School District #83 voted Tuesday night to consider the closure of two elementary schools in the region before the start of school in September. As it was last year, Silver Creek Elementary is again being considered for a shutdown, with its students being amalgamated with those at Salmon Arm West. There is sufficient capacity at Salmon Arm West for all the students, with about 20 student spaces still left over. The other proposed closure is for the historic building of Armstrong
Elementary, with the creation of two K-7 schools, one at Len Wood and the other at Highland Park. This would reduce the number of Armstrong schools from four to three, with Pleasant Valley Secondary converting to a Grade 8-12 configuration. While all the board members lamented the potential closures, the school district must make cuts of $1.3 million to its budget due to declining enrolment and increasing costs without additional funding from the provincial government. Tuesday’s decision to accept the two motions does not mean the
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school closures are a done deal – instead the school district must initiate a 60-day public consultation process on each potential school closure before going to a final board vote on school closures at the end of April or early May. This will give the public a chance to provide information and feedback to trustees – which, if Tuesday night’s meeting was any indication, there will be strong opposition to both closures from both Armstrong and Silver Creek parents. Trustees were divided on the motions. Despite unanimous votes to bring the motions to the board a week ago, the three trustees from
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the two affected areas spoke strongly against the closures in their area. “To close that school would have a detrimental result on that community,” said Trustee Kelly Rowe of the Silver Creek motion. “We have to find cuts, but I do not want to see it closed.” Chris Coers expressed concern about the accuracy of school capacity data, saying schools use space differently than in the past and closures of these two schools might be short-sighted. “If we are looking to close schools See District on page A2
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