Speaking out on school closures

Many trustees, parents, teachers, MLAs, and others have spoken out against the closures, testifying to the critical importance of the neighbourhood school. Included below are just a few examples from the many public comments on school closures.

MLAs

 “Spring is in the air. Sadly, around British Columbia that means another round of school closures. Since 2001 the B.C. Liberals have closed more than 134 schools, many of them in single-school communities…. Since 2001 the B.C. Liberals have closed more than 134 schools, many of them in single-school communities. Then last fall the Minister of Education pulled the rug out from underneath school districts, changed the funding formula and cut their budgets once again
As a result, we have 27 more schools on the brink of closure including Queen Elizabeth Elementary in the Premier's own riding. My question is to the Minister of Education. How many schools have to close before the B.C. Liberals wake up and start listening to parents and students?
Opposition Leader, C. James, Hansard, February 19, 2007

We have a situation where the minister talked about schools as neighbourhood hubs — the Minister of Education previously. It's time for the government to either step up and say that they mean it when they talk about that and provide the resources that allow our existing schools in Vancouver, particularly ones that are at capacity, to be able to continue to operate and provide services to kids and meet the needs of parents.
MLA S. Simpson, Hansard, March 3, 2008

We had to cut regular maintenance. We had to cut every function of the school district's operations to meet the cutbacks in downloaded costs that were imposed on our school district by the government's education funding choices. So we entertained a facilities report which, under current practices, pointed to a dozen schools and recommended them for closure.
There was one statement within that report that really rings in my ears, and that statement was: “Take advantage of low-enrolment periods to rid yourselves of unwanted inventory.” Small schools in small communities should hardly be viewed as unwanted inventory, but the policies we've received from this provincial government have indeed imposed that upon us.
MLA D. Routley, Hansard, March 3, 2007

One of the things that sort of struck me in this throne speech was the Walking School Bus idea. I spoke to a woman who told me that they travel for an hour a day to drive their children to the bus stop so that their child can take a bus to school, and travel another three hours a day to and from school. What kind of a Walking School Bus is going to deal with that issue? What ­ instead of going to bed Sunday night, you start walking to school?
MLA C. Puchmayer, Hansard, February 15, 2008

“Obviously it's a big concern in our community and around the province in communities,” Sather said. “I'd like to hear directly from parents and the public [about] choices for retaining our schools.”
Sather said he's not just concerned about schools closing but the lack of schools in neighbourhoods that are growing.”
MLA M. Sather, Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows Times, March 14, 2008

“Under the B.C. Liberal government, education in rural B.C. is under significant threat,” said Charlie Wyse, MLA for Cariboo South. “Minister Bond’s decision not to fund the class size and composition requirements she introduced has resulted in funding shortfalls, putting rural schools on the chopping block once again.”
MLA Charlie Wyse, Cariboo-South, Hansard, November 27, 2006

“By shutting down these schools, by undermining the ability of rural school districts to keep rural remote schools open, Minister Bond is also potentially killing any chance that rural remote communities, like Likely, can continue to grow, let alone maintain their existing population”
MLA Bob Simpson, Hansard, November 27, 2006

Community and advocacy groups

Koksilah School is presently educating about 142 students, 99 per cent of them being of Native Cowichan heritage. How can we not defend the only school which truly supports these children in a cultural environment where they can grow and learn at ease; in a school setting which the elders have said gives them hope? Does this community speak out of both sides of its mouth? Are we the forked tongues so reviled in the past?
Can we support a week of games and yet cannot support a year's schooling in a unique educational facility for the children of the very people who will proudly host those games?
Let's get our priorities straight. Children are our future.”
Celia Abram, Cowichan Citizens Coalition, Cowichan News Leader and Pictoral, February 20, 2008

“The Child Care Advocacy Forum is increasingly concerned about the serious impact that school closures and changes to school calendars are having on child care programs located in and on school grounds”
June 28, 2006 news release, Childcare Advocacy Forum

Parents

“Transportation: Having a centrally located school eases transportation problems. Children are able to walk, or bike to school. Parents on their way to work can drop their children off and carpooling is easier.
Building the economically self-sustaining downtown core: Parents who drop off in town are more likely to stay and shop.
Environmental Impact: The school is an amazing piece of greenspace and we cannot afford to lose it. If we continue to infill and develop the downtown, the wild, undeveloped greenspace
will disappear.
Activities: Sooke elementary contains a two-room after school daycare with an extensive wait list. Sooke soccer rents the gymnasium and there are school activities in the evenings. Sooke fastball holds practices and games in the field. The playground is a new installation representing several years of community and parental involvement.
And lastly the community of Sooke identifies with and loves Sooke Elementary.”
Kelly Dvorak, Vice-President, Sooke Sooke News Mirror, March 12, 2008

Rutherford parent Tina Bray said a group of parents have formed the Rutherford Open and Thriving Committee and launched a website. She said parents are distributing flyers and posters, going door-to-door and doing their own research on future enrolment predictions….
David Murchie, with Mount Benson's parent group, said parents are raising awareness at weekly sports nights and doing their own number crunching to show closing schools will cost the district
more than it will save.
Nanaimo News Bulletin, February 12, 2008

“I’m not a boat-rocker, but I feel it’s really important that parents stand up and do something about this,” said MacDonald. “Yesterday I sat at my kitchen table and explained to my daughter what it means to be Canadian; how we have the right to education and to democracy. But now I feel it’s all a bit of joke when I see the school board ignoring all these parents who clearly don’t want this happen and they’re going through with it anyway.”
Colleen MacDonald, Maple Ridge News, October 24, 2007

“This is quite a unique school and it’s the heart of this community,’ said Krista Seggie, a mother of three... “It is of the utmost importance to me that my children attend school in the community to which they belong,” Seggie wrote in her letter to the board.
Krista Seggie, Nanaimo, The Daily News, Monday, December 18, 2006

“I think all Canadians should be really worried that our rural communities are being destroyed by administrators,” Cowichan Station Parent Advisory Council chair Dan Ferguson said. “I guess I’m kind of a patriot; I’m willing to fight for our communities.”
Cowichan, PAC Chair Dan Ferguson, Duncan News Leader, November 15, 2006

Municipal leaders

WHEREAS schools are a fundamental component of a healthy, vibrant community and vital to a community’s future well-being;
AND WHEREAS the Ministry of Education funds students in rural and remote schools according to a formula that recognizes Unique Geographic Factors, such as weather, transportation and distance;
AND WHEREAS many of the funding factors have been frozen for years:
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that UBCM lobby the provincial government to review the current school funding formula so that it better reflects the needs of students in remote and rural communities.
Motion endorsed by the Union of BC Municipalities convention, October 23-27 2006

“Coun. Murray Kristoff questioned the logic of closing the school, when busing Port Edward’s kids to Rupert would be so expensive.
“The way I see it, if you close the school, you bus all the kids to Rupert,” he said. “And a Grade 1 kid on the bus (with teenagers)?
Discussion regarding the closure of Port Edward Elementary has come up before, and the district’s Chief Administrative Officer agreed with Kristoff’s comment.
“The last time this came up, when they were talking about this, (I was told) they would go into the red $120,000 busing the kids,” he said. “So it would be even more now,” Kristoff then asked how much money from the collection of school taxes within the community actually went back into local schools.
“We collect $400,000 to $500,000 for schools in our community, and that goes to Victoria,” said Bedard.” 
Daily News, Prince Rupert, February 28, 2008 

“Coun. Paul French cautioned the board about moving too quickly to close schools or reconfigure the secondary schools... “We are looking at the possibility of the town growing, and that is not in the report. My message to the trustees is to be careful who is leading you here.” French said.
Williams Lake Councillor Paul French, Williams Lake Tribune, November 30, 2006

Concerned community members

“There are 140 schools at risk of being sold off across this province. If the premier and the minister are serious about child care, they must secure the space for these preschool programs to be implemented. The school lands are not ours to sell; they belong to future generations of children.”
Jessica Van der Veen, The Vancouver Province, letter to the editor, Fri 07 Mar 2008

“It was with great interest and disbelief that I read the Liberal government's recent throne speech highlights, specifically the one regarding the “Walking School Bus” program. One can't help but wonder if Premier Gordon Campbell ever talks to Education Minister Shirley Bond.
Is he not aware that his minister of education is encouraging, if not mandating, that British Columbia school districts close neighbourhood schools?”
Glen Pederson, The Daily News, Nanaimo, February 18, 2008

Teachers and support staff

“If closing schools meant that the remaining schools had better resources, then it would be easier to justify consolidation. Over the past six years, that argument has been nothing more than a broken promise. Indeed, schools may have to close. The board of education will decide which ones and how many. Unfortunately, the community will be left with fewer schools and if recent history continues, the remaining ones will also have fewer resources.”
Kip Wood, The Daily News, Nanaimo, March 10, 2008

“When a school closes, young families don't want to settle in that community because there is no school,” according to BCTF's Lanzinger. “So there is a downward spiral for that community.”
BCTF President, Irene Lanzinger, The Tyee, September 7, 2007

“B.C. Teachers Federation vice-president Susan Lambert called the closure of schools “unconscionable” during the current economic boom.
“The province has a $3.2-billion surplus,” she said. “Every time a school is closed, it is traumatic for parents.
The community fabric is woven over a neighbourhood school. Every parent wants their child to go to the same school from kindergarten to Grade 7. They want to minimize disruptions and maximize stability.
Being able to walk to a nearby school increases physical fitness and fights obesity. I know some Grade 1s who spend two hours a day on buses. When schools close, it means ripping out the heart of the community,” Lambert said.
Susan Lambert, 1st Vice President, BCTF, The Province, October 29, 2007

Since 2002, more than 130 schools have closed in British Columbia, striking at the heart of dozens of communities. A very large number of schools have been shut down in rural districts.
We know that schools in small towns and villages, like Hedley, encounter challenges serving the needs of children, but school closures threaten the viability of rural communities, themselves.
Historically, rural schools have been educational pioneers, developing innovative learning techniques to fit their unique circumstances. Tending to be smaller in size in many communities, rural schools, such as Hedley Elementary, have a strong history in multi-grade classrooms, mentoring, peer assistance and cooperative learning.
Rural schools serve many functions beyond their role of delivering public education to the children currently enrolled in the school. They also draw new families into the community because most parents with young children or prospective parents want to live near a public school.
CUPE Local 523, Presentation to Okanagan-Similkameen Board. January 9, 2007

Trustees, school district officials

Victoria trustee Beresford likes to think that everyone can see the wisdom of investing in education but she worries about the government's policy of downloading expenses to districts and pressuring them to sell public assets permanently.

“Closing down the small schools and leaving a few big box schools, is that really the way the government wants to go?”
Charley Beresford, The Tyee, September 7, 2007 

“Closing schools no longer saves much money as most of the funding we now receive is based on FTE enrolment,” reports Secretary-Treasurer Don Woytowich, “If we move (the students) from one school to another, for the most part the dollars follow as we fund schools on an FTE basis for teacher clerical, SEAs, principals etc. About the only savings that arise are custodial and some small portion of clerical but not much more.” 
Maple Ridge Secretary-Treasurer, Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows Times, Oct. 12, 2007

Media, editorial opinion

“Schools are not warehouses, they are centres of learning, and they are neighbourhood fixtures. A school isn’t just the place you ship your kids off to in the morning; it’s the place where those kids learn, develop social skills and behaviours, and where they make friends. Schools are also the places you attend Christmas concerts, bake sales, sports days, and other extra-curricular activities. Along with churches, schools are often the focal point of a neighbourhood, or at the very least the one thing every parent in the neighbourhood has in common... This government, which has closed hospitals and courthouses, should not be forcing the closures of schools, too. At a certain point, a sense of neighbourhood and community must trump dollars and cents.”
Opinion Editorial, Williams Lake Tribune, November 16, 2006

“Figures about “empty” classrooms convey an inaccurate picture to the public. A classroom is reported as “empty” unless a teacher and an entire class of students occupy it during the school year. In fact, these “empty” classrooms are homes for a myriad of activities which support student learning.
Computer labs are considered “empty classrooms”. The same is true of classrooms housing music and art programs. PAC rooms, after-school clubs, programs for pre-school siblings; all take up space and all add value to a school.
Multi-purpose rooms used to be considered an integral part of every elementary school. Now, if a school is lucky enough to find space to provide enhancements they are still considered “empty classrooms”…..
Declining enrolment can be an opportunity. It is an opportunity to closely examine how education is delivered to students. It is an opportunity to work together as a community and create something unique and effective for twenty-first century students and their families.
It is an opportunity to create a dynamic, exciting structure for educators to try new ideas and approaches to learning.
Katherine Wagner, Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows Times, October 12, 2007

“The school, says local resident and grandmother Shirley Van Osh, was what kept families here as opposed to some forlorn male-dominated logging camp. “Without a school a community doesn’t exist,” Van Osh says. “It just isn’t feasible for families, unless they decide to home-school. If you don’t have a school, you don’t have the heart of your community.”
Shirley Van Osh, resident of Forest Grove, grandmother, BC’s Regional Divide, CCPA, May 2005

School District #27 trustee William Van Osch had no reservations in speaking up about the problem. “The funding formula is geared toward closing schools rather than keeping them open,” he stated at a recent public meeting of 200 concerned citizens in Williams Lake.”
Gold Trail, Ashcroft Cache Creek Journal, December 5, 2006

“The rural school represents more than a place for the children to be educated. In many ways, it also represents the right to preserve a rural culture and a viable economic development plan,” the report said. It added that many thought their school was a “community right” that should be guaranteed, to recognize rural B.C.’s contribution to the economy.”
Scott Deveau, The Tyee, September 8, 2004, referring to the Ministry of Education, task force report on rural schools