I commend Bev Maloff for writing her recent letter regarding the proposed restructuring/closure of Castlegar Primary (CP) School. Her experience as a school trustee is invaluable in providing facts and figures that I am sure, most residents of Castlegar are unaware of.
The impacts of the proposed restructuring/closure of CP goes beyond the students and families of CP, it also affects the residents and the public image of Castlegar. I would think that City Council would be outraged to see our downtown core degraded by placing our youngest students into temporary shelters while closing a perfectly good school just across the street.
What does that say about our town image to new families moving to the area? Further to this disruption at CP, the students of Twin Rivers Elementary (TR) will lose most of their green space and playground area to accommodate the portables.
As brought out in Ms. Maloff’s letter, there will be little or no money saved and many added tasks and stress for students, teachers, and administrators.Castlegar Primary is unique in our district and in the province as it is the only Kindergarten to Grade 2 primary school in British Columbia. This unique fact should qualify it for educational study, not for fiscal closure.
Further to its uniqueness, CP is growing in enrollment. The school provides an excellent learning environment. It has an incredible staff, administration, and unique programs. Walk into CP at any time and see for yourself!
At the end, it comes down to making choices about our future. The School District will only aid the bleeding of students out of this area if it does not invest in the needed resources and stability of the schools in Castlegar.
Rural Trustee Mickey Kinakin aptly put it that it’s like “community cannibalism” watching the School District’s efforts to find local money to avoid a deficit caused by an inadequate provincial funding formula. There is no money to be ‘saved’ by closing or restructuring CP.
There is nothing left our community can give up to the School District by closing more of our schools to balance the School District’s books. I strongly urge the parents of Castlegar Primary and Twin Rivers Elementary, along with all the residents of Castlegar, to write the School District and the City of Castlegar to stop this unnecessary disruption of our community’s schools. It is time we all stood up and saved what is left of Castlegar’s schools!
-Leanne Osokin
CP Parent Advisory Committee Chair
Castlegar