The more I report on possible Sechelt school closures, the more certain I become that there can be no true winners here. As a community, we are in that tiny, airless crevasse between the rock and the hard place.
The "rock" is the status quo, with all three schools staying open. This, in theory, is the victory position for all the parents and community members who argue against the closures. This is "saving" the schools.
Except that there's no status quo available here, and the term "saving" may not be appropriate, given what appears to lie ahead. With the school district unable to run a deficit and forced to scrape together an unanticipated $2.2 million to run next year, every school in the district will feel the fallout. Jobs will have to be cut. Anything even remotely discretionary will have to be slashed. And these little schools -however strong their communities and valiant their spirits - are going to feel, without any buffering available from the district, just how little funding is generated when you've got about 100 kids in a school.
The "hard place" is the closures to Sechelt and Davis Bay. If you're going to close schools, these are the "logical" ones to close, given that Kinnikinnick is new, accessible, and has the room to absorb two more student populations.
This, in theory, is the victory position for the people who have argued for pooling resources and consolidating the three student positions. Except that I doubt any parent or educator - no matter how fervently they find themselves in this camp - would term this a "victory." This is the loss-cutting position, the pragmatic choice. This is what you do if, and only if, your student numbers have plummeted to a point where they neither fill classrooms nor generate enough funding to cover a reasonable Canadian education. This is the position that sees schools close, history lost, communities grieve.
So that's the bad news.
But perhaps there's more to the situation than that. This debate - agonizing as it has been and will continue to be right through to the final vote Feb. 16 - has showcased two or more visions, but one unifying goal: everyone's fighting for the kids.
And that kind of passion, on the part of parents, educators and trustees, gives real reason to believe that - however the dust may settle and however many Sechelt elementary schools may open their doors for business in the fall -we, as a community, will ultimately make this work for the kids.
Heck, the kids might even make it work for themselves.
And if we do see schools close, that won't be the end of the story. There will be new friends for the kids, new hallways to roam, a new school identity to forge.
Right now, my heart goes out to all the district's parents, kids, educators and the board itself, as we wait for the board's decision. But once that decision comes down, I hope we can stand together, united by a desire to do right by the kids, and make the most of it.
