Look at the math and it鈥檚 easy to understand why Cowichan Valley School District officials have decided to close six of the district鈥檚 29 schools. Look at what school closures do to the communities and children involved, and the decision becomes much more difficult.
But in the end, the financial situation dictates that the district really has no choice. The district has facilities for 11,000 students, but enrolment has declined to 7,600.
School districts are required by the provincial government to balance budgets. Last year, the district鈥檚 nine trustees were fired by the Education Ministry because the board, faced with difficult choices, brought in a budget with a $3.7-million deficit. The province appointed Mike McKay as a trustee to take over the governance of the board.
Last week, McKay approved a restructuring plan that will see five elementary schools close at the end of June and one adult learning centre close Dec. 31. Parents will be required to pay to bus their children to other schools.
Closing those schools will save about $2 million, so more cuts are necessary.
About 75 to 85 per cent of a typical school district鈥檚 budget goes for salaries 鈥� budget cuts usually mean reducing staff, and the Cowichan Valley district is likely to experience more of that pain.
A school is the heart of a community, especially in a small place like Youbou on the north shore of Cowichan Lake, where Yount Elementary will be closed. An empty school is a sad sight, a void that is difficult to fill.
In a perfect world, all students would be able to walk to school, classrooms would be of manageable size and teachers would have all the resources they need to deliver sound education. But reality seldom delivers perfection; absolute equality in amenities and opportunities is impossible to achieve.
Funding for sa国际传媒 schools is based on the number of students in a school 鈥� more students, more funding; fewer students, less funding. It鈥檚 not always a pleasant arrangement, but it鈥檚 straightforward and reasonably fair.
As enrolment declines, there comes a point when it is no longer practical to keep a school open, not just in terms of finances, but for the students鈥� benefit. A small school is limited in the programs and opportunities it can offer. A larger school can offer more programs, a wider scope. There is more interaction with other students and better opportunities for sports, the arts and extracurricular activities.
Busing will be inconvenient and will bring added expense for families 鈥� up to $200 a year per child. But that鈥檚 not a problem unique to rural areas with declining enrolments 鈥� it also occurs in urban areas where residential growth outstrips school facilities.
In the Sooke School District, for example, Happy Valley Elementary is full, and some families who live within walking distance of the school are required to bus their children 鈥� at their own cost 鈥� to more distant schools.
In Greater Victoria, it is not uncommon for students to walk past one school to get to another because the population distribution doesn鈥檛 match the location of school facilities.
The idea of closing a school is something that tugs at the heart. We want our children鈥檚 world to be predictable, safe and happy, and change is sometimes seen as a threat to the stability of that world.
It isn鈥檛 heartlessness that is driving the Cowichan Valley district鈥檚 decision to close schools, though, it鈥檚 simple math. And all the wishful thinking in the world can鈥檛 change that.
