Final votes in to close 3 local schools
Summerland parents mourning the pending loss of Giant’s Head Elementary School should refocus on the brighter future that will be available to their children in new, expanded facilities elsewhere in the community, says a local trustee.
“It’s had an incredible reputation for so long in the community of Summerland, so many great teachers who went through here and kids, and it was just one of those schools that a lot of people would tell me they looked forward to sending their kids to, and I just want to reassure them that they’re going to be going to a bigger, brighter school,” said Dave Stathers on Monday night, just prior to the board of School District 67 casting unanimous votes to close Giant’s Head Elementary and two others in Penticton.
Stathers went on to sing the praises of the new Summerland Elementary School, which is due to open in September 2025, and Summerland Secondary School beyond that, “and I really think it’s something we can look forward to and be happy about.”
Also set to close effective June 30, 2025, are Parkway and Carmi elementary schools in Penticton.
A fourth facility, the Connect Ed building on the grounds of Penticton Secondary School, will close, too, with alternate-education programs based there dispersed to other facilities.
The district will also eliminate middle school altogether, by converting three existing middle schools to elementary schools, then adding grades to elementary and high schools.
New 80-set child-care facilities that were planned for Carmi and Giant’s Head are instead going to be built at the new Skaha Elementary (currently Skaha Lake Middle School) and Summerland Elementary (currently Summerland Middle), and are expected to open in fall 2025.
Similar facilities – each of which is being funded by a $4.3-million grant from the B.C. government – are already under construction at Wiltse and Uplands elementary schools in Penticton and due to open in early 2025.
Driving all the changes are ongoing budget shortfalls, estimated at $1.4 million for the coming year, along with flat enrolment numbers that are down to 5,700 – about 2,000 fewer kids than were here 20 years ago.
The three closures are expected to save about $1.5 million in operating costs annually, while the one-time capital cost of renovating the other schools is pegged at $3 million.
There are no immediate plans to dispose of the properties should they become vacant.
As of December 2023, Penticton schools were operating at a cumulative capacity of 82%, while Summerland schools were at 69%.
Based on population projections that predict seniors will account for most new residents over the next 10 years, SD 67 enrolment is only expected to grow by 160 to 300 kids over that same timeframe.
The 60-day closure process kicked off in January and included six public information sessions that attracted a total of 165 people.
The closures are part of an overdue update to the district’s long-range facilities plans, which are generally done every 10 years. The last such review in SD 67 was completed in 2011.
PLAN FOR PENTICTON SCHOOLS
– Princess Margaret and Penticton Secondary (currently Grade 9-12) both reconfigured to take kids in Grade 8, beginning September 2024.
– Columbia Elementary joins the Penticton Secondary catchment area, effective September 2024.
– Parkway and Carmi elementary schools close, effective June 30 2025.
– Connect ED building closes with programs dispersed to other facilities, effective June 30, 2025.
– KVR Middle becomes an elementary school and takes former students of Carmi, effective September 2025.
– Skaha Lake Middle becomes an elementary school and takes former students of Parkway, effective September 2025.
– Grades 6-7 added over a two-year period to all other elementary schools: Columbia, Naramata, Queen’s Park, Uplands, West Bench, Wiltse and Kaleden, beginning September 2025.
PLAN FOR SUMMERLAND SCHOOLS
– Giant’s Head Elementary closes, effective June 30, 2025.
– Summerland Secondary (currently Grade 9-12) reconfigured to take kids in Grade 8 as of September 2024, and Grade 7 as of September 2025.
– Summerland Middle becomes an elementary school and takes former students of Giant’s Head, effective September 2025.