School closures back on trustee’s radar
There are nearly 2,000 fewer full-time-equivalent students in School District 67 today than there were two decades ago, and that means it’s time to consider facility closures again, says one of the trustees who went through the process just four years ago.
Data presented to trustees at a committee meeting Tuesday showed the number of FTE students in the district fell by 24% from 7,435 in 2001-02 to 5,683 in 2019-20.
“It supports the recommendation for 2020-21 to take a look at a long-range facilities plan and reconfiguration proposal to take a really good dive into it,” said Trustee Linda Van Alphen.
“I know that in the last goround when we had these conversations, we did everything to try and keep all the balls up in the air, and I think it would be a very positive thing to do to go through that process again.”
The recommendation to undertake a fresh review came from Joan Axford, a financial consultant hired to review the 2019-20 budget.
Acting superintendent Todd Manuel cautioned Wednesday a facilities review has not yet been officially discussed by the board.
“We will come back to the board to get formal direction on this by early fall,” he said in an email.
Van Alphen was chair of the board in 2016, when it voted to close McNicoll Park Middle School, Trout Creek Elementary and West Bench Elementary following a highly contentious review process.
Trout Creek and West Bench were later saved by last-minute funding from the B.C. government, while McNicoll did close and is now a French immersion school operated by a separate district, which paid $11.5 million for the property earlier this year.
The enrolment data was presented Tuesday by another financial consultant, Eileen
Sadlowski, who was at a loss to explain the wild swings to which the district has become accustomed.
“There is no consistent pattern,” she said. “It seems to be very erratic almost.”
The biggest drop recorded over the past two decades was 240 students in 2008-09, while the biggest gain was 74 students in 2015-16, which was the first of four consecutive years of small increases.
Enrolment then dropped by 104 this year, which caught administrators off-guard and led to budget cuts that fuelled public concern and eventually prompted trustees to hire the two outside consultants in February.
Axford’s work is complete and cost $12,700, while Sadlowski has so far collected $34,200 and is remaining in the district’s employ while it is without a secretarytreasurer, according to Manuel.
Kevin Lorenz, who held the position, has been on medical leave since February, when the board voted to hire the consultants to check his work.
His boss, superintendent Wendy Hyer, went on medical leave the following day and has not returned to work either.
She’s due to retire July 31.