Emotions run high as Beaverdell parents work to keep school open
By Mona Mattei
There’s no easy answer for School District 51’s Board of Trustees in the case of the possible closure of the Beaverdell Elementary School if the decision is based on the public meeting held on Tuesday, Apr. 27 in Beaverdell. The community came out in full force to support their small school with over 100 people attending the first meeting in the closure consultation process. The board heard their impassioned call to keep the school open, but did not comment or engage in any discussion at the meeting.
The meeting, facilitated by John Moody, past president of the parent advisory committee of Big White, gave the community the opportunity to present information to the board for their consideration, and to ask questions about the closure. There were many articulate presentations from the community for the small school to stay open that ranged from heartfelt emotional pleas about the connectivity of the children to the community, to economic rationales.
As a result of funding pressures, School District 51 initiated a consultation process in April to explore the possibility of closing Beaverdell Elementary. The current students, totally 10 this year, would be bussed to Rock Creek to attend the school there if the closure moves forward. While that will decrease expenses to the district, many of the parents feel strongly that there would be costs, not only to the children, but also the community, and the district.
Parents stated that the emotional and physical toll would be high on the children, ranging in age from five to eight, as a result of bussing to Rock Creek. At the farthest point of pick up on the bus route, the day could be as long as 10 hours for the kids. Greg Tomlinson, local Beaverdell resident, felt that putting young children on a bus with older students for long days would be a recipe for disaster. Others noted that the young children would suffer with less time for homework, less extra-curricular activities, and poor grades with the unnecessary stress of the travel and long day. West Boundary Elementary School teacher and union representative for the teacher’s association Norm Sabourin said that he already sees problems with older students who are bussing from Beaverdell.
“I hope the school board is looking at the distinct needs of the kids here. Are these not the most vulnerable students of our district? I ask about the emotional price will be of closing down this building and forcing five- to eight-year-olds to ride the bus 72 minutes each way from Carmi travelling with grade 10, 11 and 12 students. That concerns me a great deal. What impact does such a long day have on children so young?” asked Sabourin.
Rosanna Zitko, mother, parent advisory president and postmaster in Beaverdell, said that her level of involvement in her child’s education would be radically decreased as a result of the change.
“With my eldest daughter in West Boundary I can’t just zip over and help out anyway I can. I feel a great loss that I can’t be a familiar face in West Boundary like I am in Beaverdell,” said Zitko. “With the possibility of both my daughters being there next year, I am so jealous of the Rock Creek parents helping with fundraising, and class activities while I’m in Beaverdell. I see this will be a hardship for most Beaverdell parents.”
Presentations were also made with financial figures that indicate there is no current loss to the district in keeping the school open, and arguments were made that in fact there could be a significant loss to the district if it closed. Dave Dunnet, a math teacher at Grand Forks Senior Secondary presented figures that indicated that in the worst case scenario the board would lose only $43,000 by keeping the school open, but in a mid-range scenario the board would actually earn $58,450.
A growing population of residents in the Beaverdell area consists of people who commute to work in Kelowna. They chose to live in Beaverdell because of the affordability of the community, and access to amenities like a school while maintaining their higher paid work elsewhere. Kenna Graph, Tammy Shipton, Tapia Chaskin, and Mick Lepey are all examples of people who have made this choice – a choice, they say, would be very different had the school not been open.
“There was high praise for the school from all parents we talked to prior to moving here. It was one of the biggest factors of us moving here. We make the commute to Kelowna for work as a choice as adults for the quality of life that we want. But to put that on a five-year-old is wrong,” said Lepey. “My wife and I are prepared to pull our kids out of the school district and try home schooling.”
The last presentation by Tammy Shipton identified a number of families who have committed to home schooling their children should the board decide to close the school. With the withdrawal of these children from the school system, Shipton challenged the board to acknowledge that there would be a significant funding loss to the district.
Teresa Rezansoff, chair of the board of trustees concluded the meeting with respect for the community’s desire to keep the school open. “I want to thank you all very much for the passion and the outpouring of love for your kids and the community and for each other. I’m blown away by it and I appreciate everything that’s been said here tonight. At this point we won’t know until the eleventh if we will be proceeding with another meeting.”
The board will discuss the topic at their next regular meeting in Grand Forks on May 11, and have a tentative date for a second meeting in Beaverdell on May 19 at 6:30 p.m. if they proceed with further consultation.
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