The deadline for the future of Fort Assiniboine School’s senior high program is fast approaching, and residents are looking to prevent it from happening.
Pembina Hills Regional Division No. 7 will make a decision on March 16 whether or not to shut down the program. PHRD set forth a recommendation to shut down the senior high school program effective Sept. 1, 2011.
Woodlands County has countered with a proposal to fund the program to the tune of $320,000 per year with a commitment of three years. Those funds would include system personnel and equipment required to develop and implement a distributed learning environment for students in the high school program.
Former Woodlands County councillor Dale Kluin said following meetings with PHRD, the community of Fort Assiniboine is worried the school board has already made its decision regarding the outcome of the program. He said Woodlands County set up a meeting between PHRD and the minister of education; however, the school board decided not to attend that meeting.
PHRD Superintendent of Schools Egbert Stang said the board is still in the process of collecting information. At the March 16 board meeting, trustees will be tasked with making the decision of the program.
“They will decide whether they are going to continue operating the school, or if they’ll do the closure as recommended,” Stang said. “There is a rumour mill that the County was going to give money, but to this day we have not received anything formally from the County.” He added there is not truth to the fact PHRD has already decided upon the future of the program, Stang said. “The board has not made a decision; that decision is only going to be made on March 16. When we look at the reality factors that bring up this program for review, the biggest thing is the number of students in the program and the viability of continuing to offer the program the way it is. It’s not possible.”
PHRD hosted two public meetings, one of which was open to the public, and another where community members could meet privately with the board. Trustees have also met with the school council prior to those meetings, to let them know about the proposed closure, Stang said.
“There’s so much emotion tied to this,” Stang said. “At the end of the day, no one wants to make a tough decision like this, because we know it impacts the school, the students and the community. But the reality is we have to deal with dollars, and we have to operate within the guidelines.”
Fort Assiniboine School has been identified under Critical Minimum Enrolment for grades 7-9. Minimum enrolment is set at 40 students, but the school has 23 students in total across those three grades (eight students in Grade 7, 11 students in Grade 8 and four students in Grade 9). There are currently 46 students scheduled to graduate this year; however, forecasted enrolment for senior high school students each year will be 25 in 2011-12, 26 in 2012-13, 21 in 2013-14, 25 in 2014-15, and 24 in 2015-16. Should the program close, students residing in the Fort Assiniboine attendance area will be transported to Barrhead Composite High School.
Stang told trustees at a meeting in January that enrolment projections at Fort Assiniboine appear to be stable. However, following the graduation of the existing Grade 12 class this year, the projected enrolment will be in the mid-20s for the foreseeable future. Fort Assiniboine School has sufficient funds to cover their 2010-11 projected deficit, the reserve fund will be depleted in the 2011-12 school year, and the school will begin to experience operating debt, compounded by annual operating deficits.
The board is still following the process outlined in February, and continues to get letters and requests from people to meet with trustees, said PHRD board chair Doug Fleming.
“We want to make an informed decision, and at this point we have not made any decisions,” he said.
