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By Doug Collins

One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: Kamloops-Thompson School District continues to face huge uphill battle

Nov 7, 2024 | 6:00 AM

THE KAMLOOPS-THOMPSON SCHOOL DISTRICT has been working hard to try to rebalance its budget after being put in a $2 million hole earlier this year. The mistake, which originated with a line in the budget being counted twice, resulted in a $2 million shortfall that has caused the district to totally reevaluate its budget allocations.

Unfortunately, the decision cost secretary-treasurer Trina Cassidy her job, which sadly had to happen because the buck has to stop somewhere. However, the error has provided some serious issues for the school district going forward to the New Year.

The board has looked at selling pieces of property that no longer fit the school board plans, and it has looked at not filling vacancies. Rhonda Nixon, the school district superintendent, says layoffs will be a last resort. However, it is most likely those layoffs will occur; that would be a tragedy.

Just when it looked like the school district was seeing some clear ground ahead, that ground has been covered over like a landslide with very little wiggle room for the board to operate. Programs that looked like they were going to go ahead have now either been pulled back or shuttered entirely.

In the long run, the district will pull through. But it will take some time to make things right. In the meantime, students and teachers will suffer from this costly error. An oversight of a small amount would have proven much less problematic, but when we’re talking $2 million, we are now in the area where those problems become a serious detriment to the board’s smooth operation.

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For smaller schools and rural schools, it will be a tough row to hoe. For larger schools, it could be even worse.

While teachers have been struggling to keep educational programs intact, it is sad that one error can totally change the trajectory of an entire district.

Teachers and students have both had to be resilient over the last few years. This latest tangle is just the most recent in the long fight for better education.

I’m Doug Collins and that’s One Man’s Opinion.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.