Form letter from Louise Scott, Chairperson, Quesnel School
District to many who wrote about the Wells-Barkerville Bowron School -
rebuttals hotlinked to highlighted text.
August 28, 2002
Dear ________
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and concerns regarding the Wells/Barkerville Elementary School closure. The decision reached by the Board was certainly not easy. The Board considered a great deal of information in reaching this decision.
A significant portion of that information was provided by a District Facilities Review Committee which involved parents, administrators, community members, teachers, and trustees, who met and reviewed facilities and enrolment data throughout our District. This data was then analyzed in relation to our needs and capacities during the course of last fall and winter. The Facilities Review Committee presented five options to the Superintendent of Schools. These options reflected the fact that our enrolment has decreased by 1,000 students since 1998. It also projected that we will see a further enrolment decline of 300 students over the next two years. The Superintendent presented his recommendations around those five options. The Board deliberated on the Committee's report and recommendations presented by its Superintendent of Schools. The Board discussion and debate included examining the impact effecting all aspects of reduced services, increased layoffs of the District including class sizes, increased layoffs, and the ability to maintain quality staff.
The final decision of the Board was that two of its smaller, more rural schools, Richbar Elementary School and Wells/Barkerville Elementary School, would be closed effective September 2002. The Board expects to close additional schools in the near future. The Board recognized that a long bus ride is a significant challenge to the students of Wells/Barkerville; however, it was also recognized that approximately seventy percent of students in the District ride a bus daily. Our student transportation safety record is of the highest standard. The Board also considered the fact that there are other elementary students in the District that ride on a bus for a longer period of time than the students from Wells/Barkerville would be.The District currently has a bus in place that runs daily from the Wells community for Secondary students to attend high school in Quesnel. With the elementary school closure, the Board has offered to run a special afternoon bus to bring the elementary students home by 3:15 p.m. each day. In addition, the Board has set aside in its budget some funds to begin a Distributed Learning program service that may benefit (rural) students in our district.
A number of key factors influenced the decision to close Wells/Barkerville Elementary School. The first was a change in the Provincial Government funding formula which now provides funding on a per pupil basis without recognition for the square footage of our facilities. Wells/Barkerville Elementary is a six room school, which can accommodate 200 students. With only 10 to 13 students projected for the School in September 2002, costs became exorbitant.
Another significant restraint for the Board is the fact that the Ministry of Education is not funding the Teachers' salary increase that has been granted for the second and third years of the collective agreement. The Board was faced with making up a shortfall of close to $1 million this year and expects that amount to double for next year.
With the sharp decline in enrolment, the change in the Provincial Government funding formula, and the failure of the Ministry of Education to fund the teachers salary increase, the Board had to make some painful and difficult decisions. Trustees struggled with the decision making and did so with a great deal of time, diligence and information. The Board was also well aware of the challenges facing the district for the coming years and recognized these challenges to be even greater and the problems more difficult than the situation faced this year.
Future decisions may well affect many more students in our School District with fewer services and additional school closures. The Board is committed to working collaboratively with its staff, its parents, and community to find creative solutions to the issues it faces.
Thank you again for expressing your opinion on this matter.
Yours truly,
BOARD OF SCHOOL TRUSTEES
QUESNEL SCHOOL DISTRICT
Louise Scott
Chairperson
Rebuttal footnotes:
1. Superintendent's advisor committee, Long Term Facilities Review, March
2002 report, appendix 4.2
2. Ibid, appendix 4.2, further supporting discussion from the committee can
be found in appendix 3.1 and 3.2
3. from Gary Graf, Superintendent of Teachers, School District #28
4. from offer made by School District #28 Secretary/Treasurer Tim Klotz to
the District of Wells regarding transfer of payment of operating expenses
to the District of Wells, September, 2002.
