Golden Hills School Division has selected the site for a possible school in the East Wheatland area.
The site, near the intersection of Highways 561 and 840, came out of discussions last Monday, March 19, with stakeholders at a public meeting. Golden Hills Superintendent Bevan Daverne said it was a good process.
“I think it was the only way to work through to something. The site the working group arrived on would have been no one’s first choice. I’m not sure if it would have been anyone’s second choice or even third choice,” said Daverne. “But when they looked at the situation and the available options, it was the choice community members said they could work with.”
He said, not only was the location important but the perception was of it being a central location.
“What it came down to was that it is something everyone could work with… they had felt, based on survey data, having a community school that could be shared by all four communities, if that is the goal in mind, they felt as a group something outside a community should be something they should look at,” said Daverne.
He said of the community members in attendance last Monday, about 79 per cent supported a consolidated school at that site. Of the parents there was 80 per cent support.
He said the Golden Hills School Division board met on Tuesday to decide whether the board would include it in its capital plan. The results of the meeting were not known at press time.
Daverne praises the community members who took part in the research.
“The group was excellent to work with, we couldn’t have had a better situation that way,” said Daverne. “This is such a difficult problem. It is a large area and four schools all going through declining enrolment, and all the emotions that go with the idea of ‘what if we don’t have a school in our community?’ And the idea of where is the best place to consolidate if we are going to have that.”
