It perhaps comes as no surprise that Pembina Hills school division trustees voted to close Jarvie and W.R. Frose schools.
Both those schools are currently sitting with enrolments that meet the closure criteria, and both are forecasted to remain in that position for the next few years.
Yet, what must be seen as surprising, and almost downright scandalous is how quickly trustees chose to act.
Instead of opting to take some more time to gather as much information as they could after receiving the Westlock North Task Force’s recommendation on Jan. 23, trustees only took public input until Feb. 22.
Then, when they decided what they were going to do, they opted not only to accept the recommendation, but add their own twist to it.
What was originally a recommendation to close Jarvie and W.R. Frose schools by the 2016-2017 school year and move their students to a single, expanded school in Dapp has been accelerated.
Now that transition is slated to happen for the start of the 2014-2015 school year.
Two full years sooner.
It’s a slap in the face of the Jarvie and Fawcett communities for trustees to be acting so rashly.
While the school division is rightfully not in the business of ensuring the communities in which it locates its schools thrive, trustees should have taken more time to come to a decision.
Or, if they were dead set on axing Jarvie and W.R. Frose, they should have stuck to what the task force recommended and not made changes.
Following what the task force laid out would have ensured the communities have time to prepare for life without their schools, and given the division time to make sure the transition is seamless.
Now, it’s important to note a large caveat in all this — the closure and transition only happens if enough space is available at Dapp School.
Still, the fact of the matter is trustees have set a timeline that is overly ambitious for the amount of work that remains.
If the schools must be shuttered, so be it. You can’t fight the numbers.
But if you’re going to go ahead with such a drastic change, you have to be sure you do it right the first time because there’s no turning back.
