School District 73 to review public input on fate of Westwold Elementary

Sidow says some parents with young, preschool-aged children attended the meeting, and there was some discussion about potentially using the building as a preschool.

Several parents expressed their thoughts on the important of having a place for their younger kids to go, however Sidow says they also heard from parents who liked the idea of their kids attending more populated schools.

“Some parents don’t want to see their children on a bus for an hour coming in to R.L Clemitson Elementary School,” She explains, “But other who do have children in RLC and young children also spoke about the importance of parents having choice, and liked the opportunity to have their children attend schools where there were more students and other types of programming.”

Sidow says the general consensus she got at the end of the meeting was that people know how important it is to have a rural school open, and are concerned about the potential closure.

Now, the district will begin gathering information before they present to the board on January 28th, 2019.

“There is an opportunity for community members, and parents and employee groups to provide feedback through our website,” Sidow explains, “Theres a feature box that allows you to post your thoughts, your reflections, and ask questions.”

Despite the possibility of a closure among the many options, Sidow says because the district would still own the building, that doesn’t necessarily mean a permanent closure.

“It could be closed until such time that there are enough young people in the community who want to attend the school.”

Currently no students are attending Westwold, but Sidow says there are some in the community with kids commuting to Kamloops for classes.

“We believe that there are approximately 28 K (kindergarten) through (grade) 7 students that are now attending RLC,” Sidow says, “So we’ll be talking directly with those families. We’re developing a plan to get their direct feedback so that we better understand what families want, and whether or not they do intend to return to Westwold Elementary School.”

Sidow adds that the school board would ultimately prefer to keep the school open, but in order for that to happen, there needs to be students actually in the building.

“And that’s what we’re seeking feedback from the community on. Is there interest in maintaining a viable school, and if so, are parents prepared to return?”

by Dylana Milobar

School District 73 to review public input on fate of Westwold Elementary

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