Radway School and Thorhild Elementary School are scheduled to close at the end of the 2011-2012 school year.
The students will be moved to Thorhild Central School.
Aspen View School Division made the call last Thursday at their school board meeting.
All school board trustees voted to close the schools, but made sentimental comments about the schools.
“It totally breaks my heart,” said trustee Penny Fehr, who represents Thorhild north. “It is a hub of the community.”
Fehr feels that by closing the school students will have more opportunities, and that the quality of learning at Thorhild will continue in the new school.
“It’s not a huge leap for the parents, and I think the parents are ready for this,” she said. “It’s obviously very scary, but I have to support the school closure.”
Paul Ponich made the motion to close Radway School.
“With student enrollments low and decreasing,” he said. “We cannot afford this, and our financial situation isn’t what we’d like to see. We can’t continue.”
Radway School had been running a yearly deficit of $100,000.
“I think we have done our homework, and I think the public is well-informed,” Fehr said. “I think the parents understand that there is not just a financial issue here.”
Board superintendent Brian LeMessurier said, “There are mixed feelings around the table, and mixed emotions. I think that that has to be remembered. The board kept the schools open as long as they could.”
“I commend the board for keeping the school open as long as they have,” LeMessurier said.
Trustee Wesley Kowalchuk said that the infrastructure of the two schools isn’t the greatest.
“They need to totally be revamped, and we can’t afford that,” he said.
Trustee Edgar Koehler said that they don’t have the money to keep the schools running anymore.
“I will support the motion because I really feel that this is where we want to be in 10 to 15 years,” Koehler said.
“Radway School has been a great school, but unfortunately we have been supporting small schools, because we value what happens there,” he said via Skype. “We are at a point where we can no longer afford to do that. I think the closure of Radway School will benefit all those involved.”
With the closing of Radway School and Thorhild Elemntary, Aspen View will be creating the largest Kindergarten to Grade 12 school in the division at Thorhild Central School.
“I think having kindergarten to Grade 12 will make the older students more socially acceptable,” Paul Ponich said.
The schools will close at the end of the school year, and the students will be moved into Thorhild Central School.
