Four communities in the same boat

Manny Everett 

Times Contributor

 

Golden Hills School Division’s Superintendent Bevan Daverne met with the School Councils of East Wheatland’s four schools to open up discussions again in hopes of finding a solution to the school situation in the area.

Declining enrollment, aging buildings, and changing demographics has put East Wheatland’s schools and communities in the same boat. As no one school is able to do it alone, the communities need to reach a consensus so they can begin paddling in the same direction towards a solution.

Gleichen’s Central Bow Valley, Hussar School, Rockyford School and Standard School each held meetings over the last two weeks with the Superintendent, parents and concerned citizens over the matter. All came to somewhat of a consensus that things needed to change and change rapidly as this could no longer be pushed onto the “back-burner”. 

At Central Bow Valley on Oct. 5, over 30 people including the present School Council, came together to hear what GHSD is looking for in East Wheatland. Daverne said, “We are looking at our process for a solution in the area to restart the discussions and move ahead. We (the Board of GHSD) understand that it has been painful for parents, school staffs, trustees and especially the kids these past few years in particular due to the unrest and misinformation. This is not a new problem and these concerns are widespread all across rural Alberta. What has been a lobby exercise in the past needs to be changed to a solution-focused cooperation from all four communities.”

Daverne listened empathetically to the concerns that were brought to the table, which were essentially the same concerns that the communities have had for the last decade or longer. Many expressed the concern that the lack of a presence of a Kindergarten to Grade 6 school in each community would cause the communities to “die off”. However, looking at demographics and growth patterns in East Wheatland, there is the question of if there are enough students attending to allow these schools to be viable.

In the next couple of months the communities of Hussar, Gleichen, Rockyford and Standard need to come together, leaving the past issues behind and move ahead to what all of them say is the main drive behind their wants and needs and that is “What is in the best interest of our children?” Daverne said, “Parents will always make the best decision for their families and we need to make all the information available and transparent to everyone involved.”

Sandra Burke of Gleichen has four grandchildren in the community and she stressed that the “lack of transparency and scare tactics in the past from the Board of Directors of GHSD will not be tolerated any longer.” There has been a lack of “cohesion” in the communities as one has been pitted against the other for such a long time (some can’t even remember when there wasn’t any fighting).

Daverne said that what he has heard from parents from all the communities is: split grades are o.k., triple grades are questionable, beyond triple grades, from a parental perspective, is not o.k. For high school there are a different set of expectations and parents have mixed feelings as to what the range is. Academically speaking it is important to have live teacher-taught classes, there needs to be a sports program, music and arts programs made available. The students “want it all”. 

East Wheatland residents can be on the lookout for more information and meetings in the weeks ahead.