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Kimberley residents still not happy with proposed changes

The Rocky Mountain School District, SD6, hosted a public hearing on Tuesday, April 25 regarding the Draft Long Term Facility Plan. The Board’s nine trustees were present at McKim Middle School to hear feedback from community members. Each person had two minutes to speak, and the trustees did not comment or answer any questions.
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The Rocky Mountain School District, SD6, Board of Trustees (Corey Bullock/Kimberley Bulletin)’

The Rocky Mountain School District, SD6, hosted a public hearing on Tuesday, April 25 regarding the Draft Long Term Facility Plan. The Board’s nine trustees were present at McKim Middle School to hear feedback from community members. Each person had two minutes to speak, and the trustees did not comment or answer any questions.

The plan was first presented last fall and included a proposal to change school configuration in Kimberley from its current two K to 3 and one 4 to 7 middle school, to three K to 7 schools.

Originally, the plan was to go ahead with the changes for the next school year, but after hearing feedback from public in the fall, a revised plan has been drafted. The changes, should the board decide to reconfigure Kimberley’s schools, are now planned for the 2018/2019 school year.

If the reconfiguration takes place, a catchment line would be drawn at McKenzie Street in Blarchmont. All K to 3 students on one side of the line would attend Marysville Elementary, and all of the K to 3 students on the other side of the line would attend Lindsay Park.

Chairperson for the Board of Education, Amber Byklum, explained at Tuesday’s hearing, “during this process some of the areas that have been flagged for the trustees to consider, and that are issues within our district are: lack of core space for a variety of uses, a lack of special education services space, over or under capacity schools, bus routes and bussing costs, our potential ineligibility for capitol funding projects due to imbalanced numbers in schools.”

“The school district facility plan is not simply about identifying the need for capitol projects, but rather a comprehensive plan outlining how the district will manage its school facilities in order to deliver its educational programs at the highest possible standard,” said Byklum.

Byklum also explained that The Board has been unable to reach a consensus on certain aspects of the plan, and how it will look in each zone in the district. The Board will either approve the most recent draft as the final plan, or approve the draft with further changes.

Community member, Jarred Thompson said at the hearing, ”I’m a Trustee in another district, so we too, had to put together a long-term facility plan, so I understand the need to get that out. Looking through the plan there are lots of good points in it. Related to Kimberley, I definitely agree with catchment areas, or to rebalance the population in schools. And I also agree with the bussing, it’s a bit of a crazy situation here, compared to my district. But there’s a lot of things I don’t agree with too, some of the process things; the committee structure; there’s a desire not to waste money spent on the report or something. You just said there’s two options, to approve the draft, or approve the draft and make changes. There’s also another option, to not approve the draft.”

At the hearing there was a lot of the concern among parents and teachers around the difference in facilities between the schools. For instance, some parents are concerned that if Lindsay Park becomes a K to 7 school, the students there may not have the same opportunities in terms of sports, drama, extra circulars, etc., as they would at McKim.

Community member, Brian De Paoli said at the hearing, “I feel very strongly that the school configuration we have here in Kimberley is very effective and best serving the students. To deny students to attend this school [McKim] for example, what is by far the best facility available to the students in the school district, I think would be something that is bordering on the lines of criminal.”

According to the draft report however, the steering committee believes the gymnasium at Lindsay Park would be acceptable, especially since it could be expanded to add 52 square meters to the space, at a cost of between $150,000 and $200,000.

The report cites a study which says that students benefit from fewer school transitions. The report also says that the change to a K to 7 structure would allow for significant bussing improvements. Because students would attend the school in their catchment area, fewer buses would be required, as more students would walk. Annual transportation savings of $40,000 to $80,000 are anticipated, not including the cost of a new bus.

“I think that the research that was presented in terms of the fear of the effect of transitions is perhaps relevant in circumstances where that research was performed, but I have yet to see any research presented that relates to the circumstances that we have here in Kimberley, where the entire school cohort comes together at grade 4, and then travels through the last 8 years of school together,” says DePaoli.

As for McKim, one concern was that it was designed to be a middle school and was not built for primary students. The proposal is that one section of the lower floor would be converted to a primary wing by removing hallway lockers and installing coat and boot racks in classrooms. The existing handicap washroom would be converted into two primary washrooms and sinks added to the three rooms that don’t have them. It is estimated this work could be done for under $150,000. McKim would also require a fenced primary play area and a primary playground set.

“If the argument to go to a K to 7 model in Kimberley is primarily founded upon saving money in terms of funding, I would like to draw the board’s attention to the fact that there are 250 students per school in the Kimberley zone, vs 200 students per school in the Windermere zone and the same in Golden, so it’s my sense that we in Kimberley already have a more efficient model,” says Brian. “If saving funds is truly the motivation, then perhaps a solution such as closing Martin Morigeau in Canal Flats should be considered before making a change in Kimberley.”

The board will be making a final decision at their meeting on May 9 in Invermere. The full draft plan can be read at http://www.sd6.bc.ca under Board, Board News.



Corey Bullock

About the Author: Corey Bullock

Corey Bullock is a multimedia journalist and writer who grew up in Burlington, Ontario.
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