Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Adam Donnelly

SCHOOL DISTRICT 73

Sun Peaks community pleased with SD73’s decision to increase access to education

Mar 12, 2020 | 5:02 PM

SUN PEAKS, B.C. — On Monday at the School District 73 Board of Education meeting, the community of Sun Peaks got some good news. As of next school year, the district will bring Grades 8 and 9 in the mountain resort municipality into the fold for funding. On Thursday, CFJC Today visited Sun Peaks to get the local reaction to the news, as well as find out more about the future of education in the community.

“From an educational point-of-view, it’s better to have the traditional classroom and teacher situation,” board chair Kathleen Karpuk told CFJC Today earlier in the week.

That’s just part of the reason School District 73’s Board of Education decided to expand educational programming in the community of Sun Peaks. For the 2020-2021 school year, the district will offer instruction for students from Kindergarten to Grade 9, which is two more grades than they currently provide.

“The community felt very listened to, and that was evident at the board meeting,” Sun Peaks Education Society President Jenny Hawes told CFJC Today. “In general, we’re pleased to see the board of trustees is going to take on the funding for the Grade 8 and 9 students.”

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This move will increase the number of students who attend class at the Sun Peaks School campus, which currently houses 94 kids. The addition of Grades 8 and 9 will push that number north of 110 students, stretching the limits of the facility even further. It’s something the district and community are collaborating on together.

“From what I understand, there’s been a school committee that’s been developed, and they’re looking at short-term and long-term needs for the school,” Hawes explains. “Clearly, part of the needs included this piece. The long-term needs [are] an ongoing process.”

“The very first year the school started, there were 18 students here,” Sun Peaks Mayor Al Raine says. “I think there are now 130 students going to school in Sun Peaks, and there’s still some going down to Kamloops.”

Al Raine’s numbers include the Sun Peaks Secondary Academy, which is funded by the Education Society. He says from the community’s standpoint, there are several different spots he could see a new school being built in the resort municipality. However, there are a few steps that need to be taken to reach that point.

“We are in active discussion with the school district in how [building a new school] will proceed,” Raine says. “I suspect that the funding and the design for the school, that’s still several years away.”

Despite how pleased the community is with the school board’s decision, there’s still one sticking point from the Sun Peaks’ perspective — SD73 wants the secondary students to change from a four-day school week to the traditional five.

“It’s a hot topic in our community,” Hawes says. “Working with the board to find a solution that works for everyone will be critical. It’s important — I think it’s great we have that opportunity.”