New ideas on way for old schools; A pilot project would see education and community services in the same building
The Daily News (Nanaimo)
September 8, 2008
By: Robert Barron

Premier Gordon Campbell's plan for a $30-million Neighbourhoods of Learning pilot project is getting mixed reviews in Nanaimo-Ladysmith.

Picking up on the theme first brought forth by Education Minister Shirley Bond, that the province's school districts should "be thoughtful" on their future plans for extra space in schools, Campbell's government now wants to see education and community services brought together in a single neighbourhood hub in a number of the province's schools through the new pilot project.

In his announcement, Campbell said three schools in Vancouver have already been chosen to participate in the pilot project and two more yet-to-be announced rural schools are also to take part in the program.

While Krista Seggie, a veteran from two fights to close South Wellington Elementary School, is waiting to see if the new change of thinking could save her school, Nanaimo-Ladysmith school board chairman Jamie Brennan said he sees only confusion and a possible duplication of services with the new project.

"I don't see anything new in this pilot project, just a re-labelling of the community schools program (established in the 1990s to create programs and opportunities for children, youth and adults) that we already have in some of our schools," he said.

"Our community schools are already serving a number of our neighbourhoods as centres of learning, recreation, adult education and other purposes and I expect the people providing those programs will be unhappy with the 'newness' the premier is attaching to his pilot program."

Campbell said the lessons learned from the pilot project will spread across the province to rejuvenate all public schools, especially those hurt by declining enrolments.

… Such plans are like music to the ears of Seggie, a member of the parents advisory committee at South Wellington, which has survived the two closure processes in recent years after trustees concluded that to close the school would take the heart out of the small, rural community.

She said attempts by parents and the local community to use the school for a number of extracurricular purposes over the years have either been denied or access to the school was made impossible because no one from South Wellington's small pool of janitors are available after hours to open the school.

…."However, I understand where the school board is coming from in that they need money to operate the district and have to use entrenched funding formulas and systems to get it.

"I hope the ministry is not saying they want to do something like this without providing the proper funding."

Brennan said the introduction of this "boutique program" comes at a time when the provincial election is less than a year away and the government has been receiving bad press about its education programs and policies.

He said the government should be strengthening the community school program instead of setting up what appears to be a parallel program that will likely compete for funding (the district receives about $315,000 a year in direct funding for community schools).

"We receive no funding or credit at this time from the ministry for using empty space for such programs as StrongStart and the money we're looking to receive as part of our budgetary process by closing some schools won't likely be coming now," he said….