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Parents fight ‘for the heart of Oyster River’

Closures: Oyster River School ‘integral to the community’
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School District 72 superintendent Tom Longridge opens Wednesday night’s public consultation meeting by explaining to those assembled the rationale presented to the board in recommending Oyster River Elementary for closure.

The parents and community members who would be affected by the closure of Oyster River Elementary, like those at Discovery Passage Elementary two days earlier, showed up in droves Wednesday evening to defend their school.

Banners reading, “Don’t take the heart out of Oyster River,” and other messaging were hung around the gymnasium, petitions to various levels of government were at a side table on the way through the door and the concern and disappointment could be read on the faces of those who filled the room.

The structure was the same at both consultation meetings. Superintendent Tom Longridge and Secretary-Treasurer Kevin Patrick gave a presentation on the rationale given for the facility being chosen when staff was tasked with selecting two schools for closure, which was followed by small roundtable discussions amongst those assembled to ask questions of trustees and staff, suggest alternatives and express their concerns.

“I was actually impressed with the process of the meeting,” said Bobbi-Jo Thulin, chair of the school’s Parent Advisory Council. “I think the way that they organized it was much better than if they would have had a ‘town hall’ type meeting. I think they got a lot more accomplished by having the smaller groups. Parents were able to bounce ideas off each other that maybe one wouldn’t have thought of. It was nice to see that there wasn’t just a panel of district officials, but that they integrated and communicated with us, which was important.”

She also feels more hopeful about her children’s school’s future than she did before the meeting, which wasn’t the predominant feeling at Discovery Passage two nights earlier.

Not everyone at the meeting felt that way, however.

Strathcona Regional District director for Area D – in which Oyster River is situated – Brenda Leigh, said she, “was really not too impressed,” with the evening.

“I noticed that there were many people who didn’t fully participate because they wanted to speak and they were upset and couldn’t easily condense their thoughts into little one-liners on the table top,” Leigh said. “It was designed to be a non-consultation, as I sense that the school administration has its minds made up.”

Leigh also presented the board with a letter expressing her concerns.

“I know, first-hand, the trauma that a school closure can cause,” she wrote. “I have lived through the closure of Maple Elementary in my area when my sons were in attendance. I suffered from the stress of that process as did my friends and family. It was a devastating process.”

She also called Oyster River Elementary, “integral to the Oyster River community,” claiming closure will negatively affect the nearby business hub, dissuade potential families from moving to the area, as well as lower property values of those who live nearby.

Alternative proposals from those gathered in the gym ranged from closing another facility instead – Robron Centre was raised as a costly, aging and under-utilized facility many times – to restructuring the district’s grade configuration in order for buildings to be properly utilized.

Another suggestion, as was also suggested at Discovery Passage, was to shift the school closures into Phase Two of the district’s Facility Plan, and move parts of Phase Two up into Phase One – specifically the redrawing of district catchment lines to increase the enrolment at some of these under-utilized schools and the disposing of the district’s surplus properties to make up for some of the current budget shortfall.

That would give the communities in which these schools are situated some time to figure out alternatives to closure.

A concern that came up numerous times at Wednesday’s meeting was the safety of children in transporting them the long distance to Ocean Grove. The Oyster River area is not well-lit – many areas don’t even have streetlights – and is immediately surrounded by wilderness. The words “cougars” and “bears” came up more than once when discussing children out waiting for the bus.

“We’re talking about putting four year olds on the side of the highway – because there are four year olds who are starting kindergarten – waiting for a school bus at, say, 7:30 in the morning and not seeing those kids back here until 4 in the afternoon. That’s a lot for kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3 kids to take,” Thulin said.

The next consultation meeting at Oyster River Elementary will be held March 3 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

An online feedback forum is also available through the district’s website (sd72.bc.ca) and they are accepting submissions by email at facilities.plan@sd72.bc.ca

They will also be receiving feedback at their next two public meetings of the board of education, Feb. 2 and 23 at 7:30 p.m. The meetings are held at the School District 72 offices at 424 Pinecrest Road.