After honing in last month on a plan to close Sechelt Elementary School, School District No. 46 (SD46) board is broadening its options to include the possible closures of Davis Bay and Kinnikinnick schools.
Following two early-December meetings canvassing public input into the school closure debate, board vice chair Dave Mewhort gave notice at the Dec. 15 board meeting of a motion to close Sechelt Elementary. But a deluge of letters and emails from parents lobbying on all sides of the closure question had shifted the board's course by its Jan. 12 meeting.
There was standing room only at the school board's Gibsons office Tuesday evening, where approximately 60 parents had wedged themselves into the small room, with chairs overflowing into the hallway. Various board members attributed the packed room to a second notice of motion, brought forward by trustee Greg Russell through the agenda package, to close Davis Bay.
Board chair Silas White opened the meeting by acknowledging the daunting task the board faces as it tries to address a decade-long decline in the Coast's student population.
"We're talking about our kids and we realize that a lot of issues and a lot of families' short-term and long-term futures are hanging on this decision," he said. "And we're paying a lot of attention."
During the meeting, the motion to close Sechelt Elementary passed first reading, but won't be discussed until it comes forward for second reading Feb. 16.
The motion to close Davis Bay was held for first reading until a later meeting of the board, but Russell explained that he had put it forward because he's convinced that the three student bodies of Sechelt, Kinnikinnick and Davis Bay should be combined into one school of approximately 276 students.
"We're facing even more significant financial challenges next year, and what I don't personally want to see happen is where you have students in a small school getting what I'll call a second-class education," he said.
And in a move that elicited a rumble of surprise from the public, Mewhort introduced a third notice of motion: to close Kinnikinnick.
Mewhort said his reason for the motion, which he emphasized was just for discussion purposes, was the combination of legal advice plus parents' letters saying the board was moving in the wrong direction in looking at closing Sechelt.
"We've been told that we should be keeping everything on the table and that we should be keeping everything open for people's input and keeping an open mind," he said.
The motions to close Davis Bay and Kinnikinnick will come for first reading and a vote, but no discussion Jan. 26. The board will hold a public consultation Feb. 2 for public feedback on the three school closure motions. And Feb.16, the board will complete second and third readings of all the motions, including discussion and a vote. All the meetings will occur at 7 p.m. in the library at Chatelech Secondary School.
