Professional Documents
Culture Documents
August 8, 2012
renovate a school that is only 12 years old and has nothing wrong with it in anyway accept it is not an elementary school, it was built to be used as a high school. While I am fully aware that closing any school is a very tough choice and one that pits parents against parents in efforts to save the schools they love (something in my opinion the Ministry should be ashamed of as its you who have created this atmosphere) surely you can see based on the numbers WHY this community is so extremely distressed. Please explain to us why closing three of the four schools was not looked at, creating one elementary school of 478 students if North Oyster was to be amalgamated in those numbers and leaving the high school intact with 453 students. All students with in Area A and Cedar would at least get to attend school in their own community from K-12. Why is the community of Cedar and ALL residents of Area A being denied the right to have their children attend school from kindergarden to grade twelve IN THEIR COMMUNITY. Please explain why the 1.5 million cannot be used to renovate one of the current elementary schools proposed for closure in order to make it work for over 478 elementary children. Or better yet, why was the 1.5 million not used to renovate two elementary schools with around 250 students in each which School District 68 states by bylaw is a viable number for an elementary school. That is the School District 68s bylaw and numbers THEY have created and WE HAVE THOSE NUMBERS. Why on earth would you agree that displacing 453 high school students as well as 396 elementary school children is the better decision when you consider the biggest bang for our buck with the LEAST impact on students. Again, I recognize closing any school is painful but also understand tough decisions HAVE to be made. Tough decisions, not downright terrible ones that totally impact an entire community and a large number of students unnecessarily such as this ten year facilities plan has and will. This school district board made a decision that impacted the greatest number of students, spending money to renovate a school that does not need it and refuses to engage this community in ANY discussion on their decision. Hardly the biggest bang for our buck with the least impact on students and the numbers speak for themselves. Lastly, if the lack of educational opportunities is the stance that you the Ministry and the School District 68 trustees insist on touting as your reason for this gross negligence of our public school system in Cedar and Area A then you need to explain to the 1100 students you have just impacted with this decision WHY THAT IS. Why is there lack of educational opportunities in our schools in this area, we have the student numbers as cited above we are not expected to know those answers as parents but you the Ministry and School District are expected to know these answers. You and your staff and the School District Trustees are the experts and it is your job and mandate to offer viable solutions WITHOUT hurting students and to engage citizens with answers to their very valid questions. You work for us and instead its the citizens working day and night trying to get answers, reading studies and reports, attending meetings and creating committees offering viable solutions that fall on the deaf ears of elected officials and publicly funded managers, staff and consultants. I understand your response has been you can vote them out in November of 2014 and thats the only option you have and I call on you sir to do much better than that. Surely you do not insult all of our collective intelligence with such a terrible response as this, we need your intervention, we need answers and we cannot afford to wait until another election as you are fully aware and it is our right as the taxpayers to ask. You work for us. I am asking for the Minister to step in and put a hold on the ten year facilities plan until all options have been explored with a committee appointed by the people of Area A, a delegation representing Snueymeux First Nations and School District 68. That sir is democracy at work and is a fair request. Thank you, Lynnia Clark