Residents urge reprieve for Stuart Wood

‘Help look for funding for upgrade’ asks association in letter to board

/NEWS/ SCHOOLS — A downtown residents group is urging the Kamloops-Thompson school board to give it time to look for funding to upgrade Stuart Wood elementary and keep it as a school.

School district administration has recommended the historic school be closed because it’s too expensive to upgrade to modern standards. Students would be moved to the Beattie campus on McGill Road.

With a deadline of today (Monday) for the public to submit letters of concern, the Downtown and West End Residents Association emailed all members of the board Sunday asking it to work with the association and City Hall to seek sources of heritage and community funding.

“We strongly believe that a community school is necessary to maintain a vibrant community and to attract new families to this area,” says the the letter, signed by association chair Denis Walsh.

“We feel that keeping Stuart Wood functioning would be a key factor in increasing density downtown and in developing a sustainable and healthy environment.”

It asks that if the board makes a decision on the school before a meeting can be set up to discuss the funding issue, it “leave the door open to reconsider if funding could be raised.”

The association also broaches a Plan B for consideration if funding for renovations to Stuart Wood isn’t found — re-configure Lloyd George — currently a French Immersion school — as a dual-language community school. That option was proposed by Trustee Annette Glover but hasn’t gotten traction with other board members.

But Walsh says it’s a “more community supportive solution than requiring families with young children living in our downtown community to drive their children to Sahali for basic schooling. We believe the school district needs to offer more than only special interest schools to families in the downtown core.”

His letter says the association looks forward to all parties “working together for quality public education,” which happens to be the school district’s mission statement. The downtown group is also planning a public meeting on the issue later in June.