BARRHEAD/WESTLOCK - Pembina Hills School Division administration is not recommending the closure or grade reconfiguration of any schools prior to the 2022-2023 school year, as none of its schools (aside from the two colony schools) meet the criteria for closure outlined in division policy.
Pembina Hills trustees passed a motion during their Dec. 10 meeting accepting the annual Grade Configuration and School Closure Report for information, with no further action being taken.
Policy 15 requires administration to annually apply a set of criteria to local schools to determine if their continued operation is viable. These criteria are linked to current enrolment figures and projections, the physical condition of the school and whether or not a particular school is a financial drain on the rest of the division.
As most of the trustees are new to their positions, the board briefly reviewed this policy at the Nov. 24 meeting, noted secretary-treasurer Heather Nanninga.
First off, none of the division’s schools meet the criteria for minimal enrolment, although there were a couple that were right on the line.
"That’s actually a little bit better than last year,” Nanninga said.
The minimal enrolment thresholds vary according to grade level, but at a minimum, a school cannot have fewer than 35 students. (An exception is made for the Pibroch Colony and Sunny Bend Colony Schools.)
The second criterion concerns five-year enrolment projections, which are completed each January or thereabouts for each school.
“Again, all the projections look pretty good as far as we could tell,” Nanninga said.
The third criteria states that a school may be considered for closure if fewer than 60 per cent of eligible students in a school’s attendance area are actually going there. Again, no schools met this criterion.
Next, schools may be considered for closure if the physical condition of the building is very poor. Nanninga said the division’s facilities department have done a great job in maintaining their schools, so this criterion was not met.
Finally, a school may be considered for closure if it is a financial drain on the rest of the division.
The recent change to the provincial funding model means there are no schools that meet the criteria; in fact, some of the rural schools now have some funding specifically dedicated to keeping them afloat.
Pembina Hills East – Ward 2 trustee Sherry Allen asked if there could be any consideration given to ways of keeping schools viable and possibly growing enrolment, as opposed to waiting until a school is in trouble.
“Are there ways we can enhance our schools, such as programming to entice special users?”
Board chair Judy Lefebvre (Pembina Hills West – Ward 3) suggested this was a possible topic of discussion for upcoming board planning sessions.
