The battle to keep Bridge Lake Elementary School (BLES) open has just begun, according to the school's Parents Advisory Committee (PAC), concerned citizens and the Interlakes Economic Association.
School District #27 (SD27) passed a motion on Jan. 26 to begin a 90-day consultation process regarding the possible closure of the school in June.
PAC chair Piri DeVries was peeved the school trustees didn't inform the PAC or the community they were going discuss the potential closure at that meeting, so the community could have some input.
SD27 issued a press release on Jan. 26 outlining the reasons the board was considering the BLES closure, including declining enrolment, budget constraints due to fewer than nine students, and proximity of Horse Lake Elementary School.
In the press release, school board chair Tanya Guenther noted four other schools had been closed since 2013 due to lack of enrolment.
The news set off a flurry of activity in the Bridge Lake area.
Interlakes Economic Association (IEA) president Dianne Lawson e-mailed several questions to Guenther, with the top 4 dealing with catchment area numbers, and current and maximum travel times.
Lawson asked Guenther to get the answers to her in time for a community meeting on Feb. 12., and the school board replied that she would send them to staff for answers.
Those answers not only didn't arrive in time for the meeting, and as of this writing, they still haven't been received.
However, the public meeting went on as planned on Feb. 12, with a good turnout of Bridge Lake area residents, and they had a lot to talk about.
They are continuing to build their case to keep the school open.
A few of the highlights from the meeting include:
• The Lone Butte/Interlakes community won't agree to one elementary school (Horse Lake Elementary School) to cover the future educational needs that covers 1,270 square kilometers. It will require most of the children, including primary age, travelling on a school bus. Some routes could be more than 50 kilometres one way (up to two hours a day on a school bus).
• The community will not accept the current consultation process because little factual information has been provided to the residents on how SD27 came to the conclusion that closing Bridge Lake School was a viable option. The school district is now soliciting to the community to come up with suggestions on how to close the school and what options there could be for the use of the school.
• The school board deliberately restricted use of the school by the community/residents (non-school use) and put in place policies that made use of the school unaffordable for community user groups. These policies directly affected health and wellness for students and adults in the community. Recently, the trustees only agreed to provide limited access due to political pressure (albeit with a cost to the user who already pays taxes for their school).
There will be a public forum at the Bridge Lake Elementary School on March 2, starting at 6:30 p.m., and there will likely be a full house.
Parents, community groups and other stakeholders can also provide input by letter (School District No. 27; 350 North 2nd Avenue; Williams Lake, B.C.; V2G 1Z9) or by e-mail at feedback@sd27.bc.ca.
The final decision on the potential closure is expected to be announced at the April 26 board meeting.
Guenther has not returned calls to the Free Press to comment on the community's concerns.