District says reopening schools to ease high enrollment not an easy process

Sep 1, 2017 | 10:12 AM

KAMLOOPS — The Chair of the school district says reopening schools to try and solve the district’s high enrollment numbers isn’t an easy process.

More than a dozen schools including Happyvale Elementary, John Todd Elementary and Ralph Bell Elementary are among the schools that have closed in the last decade due to declining enrollment at the time.

Meghan Wade says the fact some of the schools aren’t in areas with high student populations makes reopening them more challenging.

“We don’t necessarily have closed schools in the locations where we have the student population there, so if we have to open up the facility and we have to use it, it’s a dialogue we have to have with the community and our unions because students will have to be bussed which will impact catchment areas,” said Wade.