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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2016 n Parents and supporters applaud some and challenge others at an emotional school board meeting, where district superintendent Sherry Elwood presented a report to trustees recommending the closure of three elementary schools — Dixon, McKay and Woodward. Photo by Gord Goble/Special to the News
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NEWS: Bowling buddies lament the closure of The Zone at Riverport 3
Parents challenge closures
Emotions run gamut at packed Richmond School Board meeting Graeme Wood/Eve Edmonds Staff Reporters gwood@richmond-news.com
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NO WAITLIST !
here were tears, jeers, pleas and applause at Monday night’s standing room-only school board meeting, as parents challenged trustees on a report that recommends closing three elementary schools: Dixon, Woodward and McKay. At one point, Debbie Tablotney, chair of the board of education, said she had to gain control of the gallery as the boos and back talk were interfering with the recording of the meeting. Parents from Dixon elementary filled many of the seats as that school is the biggest and
perhaps most complicated of the three to close, as is recommended by superintendent Sherry Elwood, following a yearlong public consultation process and assessment of facilities by district staff. “In most of Richmond, declining neighbourhood enrolment has resulted in under-utilization of school capacity,” stated the district, as to its reasoning for the closures which, if approved by trustees, will take effect July 1, 2017. “In some schools, student populations are so small the school district cannot offer the optimal range of programs. Trustees need to make a decision on which schools to close to
ensure facilities are used in an effective and fiscally responsible way,” What frustrated many of the parents at the meeting was the fact Dixon is already over capacity, and the report recommends sending many of the students to Diefenbaker elementary, which is also at capacity. “Why us?” was a common refrain. The answer, in part, is because the earlier public consultation processes found parents were particularly concerned about having schools within a 15-minute walk of their homes. And because there are a number of other elementary schools in the area, students living within the Dixon catch-
ment would still be within that 15-minute “walkshed” if Dixon was closed. The catch, however, is that Dixon has a French immersion program and many of those students (slightly less than 50 percent) are out of catchment. It’s the notion that those students are portable because many of them are not in the walkshed, that angers some. Dixon should not be penalized because it is a school of choice, argued Stephanie Dunn, adding that parents chose the school not just because of French immersion, but because it’s a unique community. See Closures page 4
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