Change ahead for schools

Change is coming to Salmon Arm schools as the Kw’saltktnéws ne Secwepemcúl’ecw school district board decided to adopt a two-school model in order to limit the number of transitions students experience during their kindergarten to grade 12 education.

In a June meeting, the board approved a K-7 elementary model and grade 8-12 secondary school model, but it deferred a decision about whether to adopt a two or three-secondary model in Salmon Arm.

Currently, Salmon Arm students attend an elementary school from kindergarten to grade 5 before transferring to Shuswap Middle School for grades 6 through 8.

Then students attend JL Jackson secondary for grades 9 and 10 before transferring to Salmon Arm secondary for grades 11 and 12.

At a Nov. 19 board meeting, Supt. Donna Kriger presented the board with a staff report that recommended a two-secondary model, laying out the pros and cons of this model versus the three-secondary model.

“This evening marks the culmination of numerous discussions involving leaders, school staff, students, parents and a community with a rich and proud history,” Kriger said.

“Change is never easy, and I want to emphasize that change does not imply poor decisions or mistakes from the past. Rather, it's a natural evolution driven by the conditions and the circumstances that we face today.”

“The decision before the board tonight is undeniably challenging,” she added. “As I've said before, there is no perfect decision for our students, families and community.”

Middle school converted to elementary

The two-secondary model proposed in the report would see Shuswap Middle School converted into an additional elementary school as it would no longer be needed as a middle school.

The report showed under the two-secondary model, both high schools would face some capacity issues, but a three-secondary model would see those challenges placed on the elementary schools instead.

With a three-secondary model, the secondary schools are projected to be operating at about 80 per cent capacity, but Hillcrest elementary and South Broadview elementary would both be projected to exceed 135 to 140 per cent capacity.

In contrast, the two-secondary model would see both secondary schools exceeding their capacity by 15 to 20 per cent and the elementary schools operating at close to 75 per cent capacity.

The issue of capacity in Salmon Arm elementary schools has been ongoing for some time with the board of education requesting a new downtown elementary school for several years.

However due to the higher enrollment pressure for other districts in the Lower Mainland, Kelowna and Vancouver Island, a downtown Salmon Arm elementary school seems unlikely to be approved any time soon.

Both models carried similar capital costs, with the two-secondary model estimated to cost $2.65 million in local capital costs and the three-secondary model coming in at $2.59 million.

A draft transition plan in the report would see all of the local schools finished converting to the two-secondary model by the 2027-2028 school year, but the report stressed this transition plan was only a draft, and the actual plan has yet to be decided upon.

The decision to formally move to a two-secondary school model was approved by a unanimous vote from trustees at the board meeting.