Rural Residents Should Be Happy With School Closings

Thursday, April 01, 2010 03:46 AM

Art Kaehn must have been smiling yesterday when the school closing were posted. Kaehn, in addition to being the Chair of the Regional District, has been front and center in trying to have a number of rural schools remain open, namely Nukko Lake, Hixon, Giscome , Salmon Valley and Dunster.

He may not have hit a home run on all of them but he has some wriggle room for the ones that got were spared the axe Tuesday.

To their credit, School District 57 trustees made their best effort in trying to have the rural schools in their district remain open. The sheer length of the trip for students, if nothing else, is a compelling argument to have them remain open.

The Giscome School is very likely to have a new life. They are sitting in portables right now, but Shirley Bond, Cabinet Minister is also the sitting MLA in that area and while it isn’t a slam dunk yet, just watch what happens as the election approaches.

Lynn Hall, Chairman of the Board has now cut his teeth on two major school closings and he is busy looking around trying to come up with a formula that is acceptable to all levels of government in which the school and grounds can be shared by a host of users.

It is the future of education and the sooner that we get to working out a suitable program the sooner the rural schools will find themselves with fewer "for sale" signs on their front lawn.

I’m Meisner and that’s one man’s opinion.

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Posted on Thursday, April 01, 2010 03:46 AM in Views by Ben Meisner

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Comments

Posted by: MrPG on April 1 2010 8:15 AM

"The sheer length of the trip for students, if nothing else, is a compelling argument to have them remain open. "

Well, I'm not so sure about that. Keeping a school open with all of the associated costs for a couple of dozen students isn't the best idea IMO, nor is it sustainable, considering the numbers are dropping.

What's the tipping point? How few students do there have to be attending before you decide it's a good idea to pull the plug?

Posted by: mythoughts on April 1 2010 9:07 AM

Well said Ben! I totally agree. Even if there are only a few dozen students, it is still worth the extra expense to keep the school open. All children are entitled to an education, no matter where they live. The governments waste so much money in other areas that are totally useless. I'd far sooner see that money go to education and keep all the rural schools open. Here's a thought...let's bus the city children to the rural schools instead and then stand back & see how many parents scream & yell. It's ok with them for the rural children to be bused but suggest we bus theirs and then see what happens.

Posted by: MrPG on April 1 2010 11:03 AM

Interesting, mythoughts... but in life, the minority don't get to dictate what the majority does, at least not most of the time.

I have no problem with keeping any school open as long as there are enough students to support it.

Also, I would have no problem with rural residents paying an extra tax to make up the shortfall to keep their schools open, but I would guess that option isn't on the table.

Posted by: faxman on April 1 2010 12:13 PM

That's an interesting headline, "Rural Residents Should Be Happy With School Closings"

We should be happy to be treated as second class citizens? I think not.

Instead of looking around for his magical formula Lyn Hall should resign. How many more rounds of major school closures should he be allowed to "cut his teeth on" before he realizes that perhaps he's not cut out for the job?

Posted by: damyzz on April 1 2010 1:57 PM

You guys still dont get it,mrpg,we are a socialisc society,that mean we all pay for everyone that can't.majority or minority,have you looked at an election results?Lynn Hall is nothing more than a puppet,how else do you explain the rest of the province being in a similar situation.but i would have expected him and the rest of the school trutees and boards to step down over the lack of funding from the LIBs.Like I said yesterday,The NDP ran in the red,unemployment was nowhere near what it is today,dedt was not growing as fast as it is now,wait lists havent shortend since the NDP were in power,all recreational activities didnt cost what they do today and schools were not closing by the had full.make me wander,not

Posted by: MrPG on April 1 2010 2:04 PM

Was it Margaret Thatcher that said, "Socialism works until you run out of other people's money"? In any case, I think we're getting to that point now.

Posted by: damyzz on April 1 2010 2:08 PM

no just the middle working class's money,the rich are richer than ever

Posted by: greatmysticbushape on April 1 2010 6:33 PM

even a rich man is a pauper at times compared to a man with a satisfied mind.

Posted by: Eagleone on April 1 2010 6:47 PM

Its not socialism to educate the youth in society in a reasonable proximity to their homes... its actually free enterprise - equal opportunity.

We all pay taxes and just because the city folk have different priorities for their portion of the taxes doesn't mean the rural people have to subsidize that at the expense of their schools and community centers.

Posted by: Palopu on April 1 2010 8:38 PM

Eagleone. The rural people do not subsidize anything. The City of Prince George pays the majority of the School Tax for School District 57.

Rural people pay less taxes, however they enjoy all the benefits of the City.

There has to be a way to solve the rural school problem, however funding half or three quarter empty schools is not one of them. If rural people can come to town everyday to work, shop, and entertain themselves, then they should be able to come up with a way to educate their kids. If not, then I suggest that they move into town. That is a viable alternative.

Im sure that the housing industry and the rental agencies would be glad to have them.

Posted by: faxman on April 1 2010 8:57 PM

"Rural people pay less taxes, however they enjoy all the benefits of the City."

OK...don't let reality get in the way of your opinion. Seriously, you need to understand the difference between a simple opinion and an informed opinion. I know...I'm wasting my breathe.

Posted by: taxinapothole on April 1 2010 9:22 PM

Mr. PG, if I open a "Shakey's Pizza", can I count on you to be the piano player???

Just wondering!!

Posted by: MrPG on April 2 2010 8:32 AM

I'm not sure what that comment means, but if it's some sort of attempt at an insult, it's a poor one. If you can't deal with opinions and views that might be different from yours, I'd suggest you stay off the site.

Posted by: interceptor on April 3 2010 8:30 AM

"Rural people pay less taxes, however they enjoy all the benefits of the City."

you mean like water? Oh wait, I dont have city water... so you must mean sewer services? oh, nope I dont have that either. Ah - garbage pickup then - wait, dang it theres another one I dont have. How about those nice loaders that come and clean the windrow out of your driveway after they plow? oh, right, the city has nothing to do with maintaining my road either...

Posted by: gus on April 3 2010 8:51 AM

Where can one find out more details about the schools?

- number of students
- number of teachers
- number of grades
- population of catchment area
- distance bus drives each day to pick up students
- building size
- building age

There are many areas in the world that have rural schools. In every such region, the definition of what is a rural school differs.

In Newfoundland, for instance, 50% of schools have fewer than 200 students. Of some 470+ schools, 65 have fewer than 50 students.

I went to the SD57 site and there is no information on that site about such mundane things that might be considered in school closures. Not very informative.