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The
Rocky Mountain Goat Wednesday, July 07, 2010
Your best source for weekly news and views in the Robson Valley
Volume 1 Issue 4
Dunster protesters obey court order, leave school Local groups consider purchasing the building Laura Keil lkeil@therockymountaingoat.com After a swirl of action around the Dunster Fine Arts School this past week, including an occupation of the school gymnasium by residents for five days, a new path has opened up. Brian Pepper, superintendent of School District 57 has said the board will not review its decision to close the school, which is owned and operated by the school district. But Minister of Education Margaret McDiarmid sent a letter to the school district stating she would support an expedited transfer of the building to a buyer as early as the fall school year. That buyer – which would own and operate the building for the purpose of local education – may be in sight. The Dunster Community Forest and the Robson Valley Music Festival are two groups that may take on the building, at least temporarily. They are in discussions with the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George, the school district and residents of Dunster to see how quickly the transfer could take place. Ken Starchuck, who represents Dunster and the larger Robson Valley for the regional district, says they are waiting for a proposal from the community forest, which was founded just last November. “Right now they’re just a fledgling community forest,” Starchuck says. “This is going to be something to ignite them to say ‘We’ve got to move forward and come up with a plan to generate income.’” Dunster residents involved in the plan are putting together a multi-year financial plan outlining how they would sustain the building. Starchuck says his organization would help the transfer in terms of a potential start-up grant of several thousand out of his $40,000-
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Photo: Laura Keil School district superintendent Brian Pepper speaks to Dunster parents protesting the school closure last week. Pepper served the parents notice that a court injunction had been filed to remove them from the building where they had been staying since June 28 after a door was left unlocked to the gymnasium. $50,000 yearly discretionary fund. George-Valemount MLA Shirley Bond The district was originally approached says there are no easy answers. She says as a buyer for the building, but in order she would like to see an innovative apto operate a building they proach to rural schools, would have to raise taxes “They’re going to have to where communities in the area, Starchuck start cutting trees down that wish to be more insays. The residents push- and making money” volved in the schools are Ken Starchuck, reing to keep the school did allowed to be. She says not want to go down that gional district small schools could look road, he says, since they at having multi-purpose know there is not an appetite for higher buildings to disperse costs and keep the taxes. buildings viable. School districts across Canada are “I don’t have a specific model in mind,” dealing with similar rural school clo- Bond says. “What I’m concerned about sures and Prince is rural schools are closing right across
JOP program approves fuel management, silviculture proposals
the country and in other countries as well.” Hundreds of rural schools have closed across Canada in the last decade, as budgetary pressures and urbanization continue to grow. Bond says one way to maintain smaller school may be to make the facility multi-purpose. “I think we need to look at facilities more broadly from a neighbourhood or community perspective,” she says.
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New highway bridge for Small River