Suddenly, closure of Stuart Wood isn’t a closed subject

SATURDAY MORNING EDITORIAL — Indications that the Kamloops-Thompson school board will hold off making a decision on the closure of Stuart Wood for at least a couple weeks are a hopeful sign.

The freshly minted Downtown and West End Residents Association has teamed up with the Sagebrush Neighbourhood Association to lean on local politicians to rethink closing the school.

It’s been a hectic week. Representatives from the two associations appeared at a City council meeting on Tuesday, then held a public meeting of their own Wednesday night, then asked for a spot on Monday night’s school board agenda.

City council has done its best this week to avoid getting involved but they’re in it and they can’t ignore it. A seemingly harmless resolution passed at Tuesday’s meeting to suggest the school board meet with the residents groups has become a bit of a pivotal event.

At first, the board was willing to reject the residents’ request to get on their agenda, but the council’s letter, signed by the mayor, is hard to ignore. And with all the other profile the residents associations have been garnering this week, the board seems to be getting the picture that maybe it needs to go a little further in consulting on the closure of the historic school.

How much further? That’s become more the question than whether the board should throw caution to the winds and make a final decision on Monday night. The issue now is how best to re-open the public discussion.

The residents aren’t being shy — they’re calling for a full-day workshop. Presumably, they’d like to have both the City and the school district at the table.

And they just might get that wish.