Letters sent to The Premier, Minister of Education, MLA's and Quesnel School District Trustees...
Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2002 07:44:34 -0700
From: Murry Krause
Subject: Wells School Closure
To: christy.clark.mla@leg.bc.ca, premier@gov.bc.ca, john.wilson.mla@leg.bc.ca
Cc: Bill Horne
Premier Gordon Campbell, Minister Christy Clark and Dr. John Wilson,
I would like to add my name and support to the growing
number of British Columbians who are appalled by the action of the trustees
of Quesnel School District No. 28 with the decision to close Wells-Barkerville
Elementary School. I state British Columbians as opposed to just the residents
of Wells, because the hunger strike initiated and undertaken by Claire
Kujundzic has brought attention to this issue throughout the entire province.
More and more British Columbians are realizing that the policies and actions
of the current government are regressive and short sighted, and we will
be burdened by the negative outcomes of these actions for years to come.
Please don t respond by saying The commitment we made to all British Columbians
before, during and after the election campaign was to perform a thorough
analysis of all government programs, policies, and initiatives. With regard
to education, our focus has been to create a top-notch education system
that is accountable, focuses on student achievement, and provides choices
for parents, students, and teachers. Where is the thorough analysis? What
are you using as the measure of accountability? What do you really mean
by student achievement? How does this provide choices for parents, students
and teachers? Have any one of you ever had to ride a school bus on a daily
basis?; especially for hours each day on snowy mountain roads without
a seat belt. Of course the words analysis, accountable and achievement
would go straight to the heart of the tax payer, but we know that these
words are nothing but buzz words that the spin doctors have spun to assist
in the justification of cuts that have happened with no analysis or any
other credible processes.
Please don t respond by saying As you may be aware, school boards have
the responsibility and the autonomy to manage their budgets in the best
interests of students. I encourage you to contact the board of School
District No. 28 if you have any specific concerns or recommendations.
The School District can only allocate and spend the resources they are
presented with. All you have done is pass the difficult work on to another
group of people; under the guise of autonomy (I have no doubt that in
some ways they are trying to act responsibly). I certainly will take my
concerns to the Trustees of the School District. However, the approach
I will be taking is; as people who were also elected by the people, why
are you not challenging the provincial government and apparently becoming
complicate in bad planning and regressive policy setting. Why are you
not standing up for the people who elected you?
Although it was years ago now, I remember like it was yesterday riding a school bus for hours every day. I remember the bullying, the times the bus went off the road in the middle of winter, waiting for the bus in the rain, snow and frigid weather, leaving home very early in the morning and not getting home until just about dinner time, and not being able to participate in after school social and recreational activities. I could go on, but these are just a few of the issues that these very young children will face daily once they no longer have their own school in their own community.
I ask you to intervene on behalf of the children and
parents of Wells. No decision is irreversible.
Murry Krause