School board rejects Stuart Wood group

UPDATE — The school district has rejected a request by downtown residents to speak about Stuart Wood school at Monday’s board of trustees meeting.

Denis Walsh of the Downtown-West End Residents Association said Thursday he believes the board will make a decision on closing Stuart Wood at that meeting.

“I fully appreciate the mandate of SD 73 to provide quality education and be fiscally responsible, however I am very disappointed in the willingness of (the) school district to provide an effective public engagement process for the residents and families of SD 73 and especially the downtown neighbourhood residents on this particular issue,” Walsh wrote in an email to other members of the group.

He acknowledged that the board held a public meeting on the issue back on March 26, at which he said over 90 per cent of the 70 people in attendance “expressed serious concerns or outright opposition.”

After he and other members of the association, as well as representatives of the Sagebrush Neighbourhood Association, spoke to City council Tuesday, the council agreed to write a letter to the school board asking it to meet with residents. Walsh said it appears the district hasn’t yet received a letter from City council.

A reply from the school district to the meeting request states that “the chair of the board has advised that the public consultation process on the possible closure of Stuart Wood elementary was extended to June 9, and has now concluded.”

Chair Denise Harper couldn’t be reached for comment at this writing but was quoted in other media as saying she expected the board would make a decision on the school Monday.

Trustee Gerald Watson said it’s up to the chair to decide on delegations.

“I’d certainly be willing to get a written submission,” said Watson. “”I’m concerned about consulting forever on issues like this.”

But Watson said the board might not make a decision on Stuart Wood on Monday because the closure wouldn’t take effect until 2016. “There could be a decision Monday but my expectation is the board as a whole will want to tread lightly given the surge of interest lately.”

He said he’d like to read City council’s letter before deciding whether to support deferring a decision.

 

By MIKE YOUDS

Two neighbourhood associations have teamed up and hope to enlist support from residents across the city as they fight against time through the weekend to have Stuart Wood maintained as a public school.

Kamloops-Thompson School Board could decide the future of the school at its final meeting of the school year on Monday.

About 40 downtown-area residents agreed to a multi-pronged strategy at a meeting at Desert Gardens Wednesday night, hoping they can garner enough public support to convince school board to keep the century-old school open.

They plan to petition door-to-door and at Saturday’s Kamloops Farmers Market as well as spreading the word online through their Facebook and website pages. The idea of a workshop to engage all involved, including the City, in a search for alternatives drew keen support as well.

When the same two groups — the Downtown and West End Residents Association and the Sagebrush Neighbourhood Association — approached City council on Tuesday, their appeal sparked a lengthy debate. Instead of agreeing to meet with school board on the issue, as the groups had hoped, council opted only to request that school board meet with the groups.

Chris Ortner said he attended a school board meeting on the matter earlier this spring and felt trustees’ minds were already decided.

“Where does that leave the citizens?” Ortner said. “What’s missing here is the involvement of the citizens of Kamloops and it happens often.”

He said a workshop is needed to identify solutions, since there is no clear plan of action to stop the closure at this point.

The board has been advised by staff that the school is outmoded and would require $2 million to $4 million in upgrades to bring it to acceptable education and public access standards. There is a proposal before the board to move students up the hill to Beattie elementary after consolidating Beattie School of the Arts students at the John Peterson campus.

Jenny Reid, one of the directors of the newly formed DWERA, said the loss of the school would hurt businesses as well as families. The impact will be felt in declining real estate values and ought to be a concern to all of Kamloops.

“There’s been no meaningful consultation of the citizens who are going to be affected by this decision,” Reid said. “All of the citizens of Kamloops have an interest and the whole city is affected.”

Frank Dwyer, a downtown resident for 33 years, said the elements that make the city’s core a desirable place to live are gradually being lost.

“My point is, the loss of a neighbourhood school will be one more blow to a critical and thriving neighbourhood here in Kamloops. Our downtown is already being gutted by progress. We should be proud of our community. This is a big issue.”

One resident was incredulous that so few seem to realize the gravity of the issue.

Councillors Tina Lange and Donovan Cavers, both of whom live in the neighbourhood, attended the meeting. Lange spoke as a concerned resident, cautioning the group that their efforts are best directed at the school board, not the City.

“Council would love to keep the school downtown, but it’s not our money,” Lang said. “First you have to get the school board on board.”

She concurred, though, with those who feel the downtown is being eroded.

“I believe it needs to be protected. Every day you see changes and say, ‘OK, this isn’t good for the downtown.’ There’s a business case for keeping that school downtown.”

Participants seemed to heed advice to advance their lobby in short order.

“There are actually urban communities that have survived because they got together and said, ‘What can we do?,’ ” said Suanne Wallin, who chairs the Stuart Wood parent advisory council.