Residents of the northern communities that would be affected by closure of the schools in Jarvie and Fawcett will have one last opportunity to have their voices heard before a final decision is made.
Pembina Hills school division trustees will host public hearings in Fawcett on April 7 and Jarvie on April 8 as part of the formal six-week school closure process outlined in the Alberta School Act.
Board chair Kim Webster said while there is an impression that the decision has already been made to close W.R. Frose and Jarvie schools, it has not.
“It’s not finalized; it’s not a done deal,” she said.
Although this process has already involved years of consultations — the writing was on the wall as early as 2010 with respect to declining enrolment numbers — the final decision has not yet been made to close the schools, regardless of what other steps have already been taken.
Over the past several years there has been discussion, a series of public consultations, a transition team and most recently, an announcement from Alberta Education that six modular classrooms and millions of dollars worth of upgrades would be provided so that Dapp School will become the Pembina North Community School.
“That wasn’t a school closure process, that was looking at what could a new future look like,” Webster said. “We’re bound by the steps in the School Act, and once you start the school closure process you’ve got six weeks to finalize all of that. That doesn’t allow for any proactive planning or creating other opportunities for if we do decide to close the schools.”
As for what would happen with the planned modernization of the Dapp School in the event the board votes to keep the two other schools open, Webster declined to speculate.
“We haven’t had either of those discussions around the board table, so it would be presumptuous of me to say what would happen next with the plan that we’ve been involved in and the province has been involved in all along,” she said.
But one thing that is clear from the information provided by the division’s administration is that given the declining enrolment numbers, leaving the schools open would result in an accumulated operating deficit.
“We do know what would happen if they stay open,” Webster said. “It would be a cost to the entire division.”
As for what kind of response the board will hear from the public at these hearings, she said she wasn’t completely sure.
“I’m sure that some people will be angry. I’m sure that some people will be hopeful. I’m sure that some people will be sad as they share with how they feel how we should be going with this decision,” she said. “Our board is ready to hear all that, as hard as it may be.”
She added that having been through the school closure process before as a trustee, she knows how difficult and emotional the process can be.
“It’s difficult because sometimes they can feel powerless,” she said. “I’m hoping that what we’ve done leading up to a motion for school closure and leading up to the public meetings, I hope we’ve given a lot more time and input beyond the six weeks.”
The hearings are scheduled for April 7 at 7:00 p.m. in the W.R. Frose School gymnasium and for April 8 at 7 p.m. in the Jarvie School gymnasium. Interested parties can also make an appointment for a private meeting with board on April 15. The deadline to schedule a private meeting is April 11.
See the division website at phrd.ab.ca for more information.
