Westside parents to request delay in grade changes

A group of West Kelowna parents on Wednesday will ask Central Okanagan school trustees to delay a controversial grade realignment.

They say the school board violated its own policies by not engaging in “meaningful” public consultation before approving the plan to change the grade makeup of area schools.

As of Monday morning, 307 people had signed an online petition opposed to the planned changes.

In late February, the board approved a plan to have elementary schools consist this fall of kindergarten through Grade 5, with Grades 6-8 at Const. Neil Bruce Middle School, Grades 9-12 at Mount Boucherie Senior Secondary and Grades 6-9 at Glenrosa Middle School.

The current configuration is K-6 in elementary schools, 7-9 in middle schools and 10-12 at Mount Boucherie.

“The board will be asked (Wednesday) to set aside their decision to reconfigure in 2018 so they can follow their own policies and begin consultation with community partners,” reads a press release issued by Westside parents Sara Neukomm, Matthew Witt and Chantelle Desrosiers.

Some critics of the board’s decision to reconfigure schools say they don’t believe kids now in Grade 5 are ready to share a school with older children.

District officials say the grade reconfiguration is necessary to reduce costs and accommodate changing enrolment patterns.