“You're going to LOVE our local public school” was what I kept hearing when our family relocated to Winlaw two years ago. After enrolling both my children in the Strong Start preschool program that it offered, I saw for myself why our friendly, dynamic, rural school has earned this reputation. I felt very fortunate to have such a fabulous local school, right in my backyard!

Like many rural areas, our local public school is a vibrant cornerstone. It’s a place where children learn, sporting and community events are held, polling stations are set up, etc. Its role as a hub in our community is undeniable.

Despite projected enrolment at Winlaw Elementary approaching maximum capacity for next year, our School District #8 has proposed to close our school in an effort to save money!  As one local parent commented, “Closing our school is like cutting off a limb that can't just be grown back in the future.”

Any time a school closes, there is bound to be opposition; however, closing Winlaw School would be unprecedented. Historically, school closures have been made in areas where enrolment is limited or declining. This is not the case in Winlaw, which is a growing community. There is an increasing number of children who wish to access their local school, to learn where they live, to be immersed in the wholesome blending of school and community.  Sadly, proposing to close our school is symptomatic of a much larger problem in BC: an underfunded public education system.

The proposed closure of Winlaw Elementary (with 97% projected enrollment for next September) needs to be viewed as a wake-up call that something is very wrong in this province. Is our public education system really so financially devastated that we are going to start closing schools that are full?  How much worse do things have to get before action is taken and adequate funding is provided for what is arguably the most important investment: our children's education? 

• I ask our SD#8 Trustees to refrain from making irreversible decisions on school closures in the Slocan Valley until further cost saving strategies and funding advocacy are developed.
• I ask my government to properly fund rural education to meet the recommendations as set out in the “Enhancing Rural Learning Report of the Task Force on Rural Education.”
• I ask my government to follow the recommendations of the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services. It advises the government to "Provide stable, sustainable and adequate funding to enable school districts to fulfill responsibilities to continue to provide access to quality public education, with recognition of the increased costs school districts have incurred."  

Since 2002 more than 250 schools have been closed in BC. Currently, many more are up for consideration of closure. Despite our province's economic success (BC has the fastest growing economy in Canada), public education continues to be underfunded: 

BC spends about $1000 less per student than the national average. Only PEI spends less than BC. [http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/81-595-m/2013099/tbl/tbl21-eng.htm]

In 2002-03, K-12 education accounted for roughly 19 per cent of the government’s budget. In 2016-17, it will account for about 12 per cent, according to government budget estimates.
[http://www.osoyoostimes.com/school-closures-are-province-wide-crisis-communities-torn-as-hundreds-of-schools-closed-in-face-of-funding-shortfalls/][http://bcbudget.gov.bc.ca/2016/bfp/2016_budget_and_fiscal_plan.pdf]

Statistics Canada data shows that BC has done considerably less than the rest of Canada to improve operating funding to school districts. Between 2009 and 2013, Board Operating Expenditures on public schools increased by 12.28% in Canada, and by only 1.23% in British Columbia. If operating funding had increased by the same percentage in BC as Canada (12.28%), there would be an additional $535 M in education funding to support students in BC public schools by 2013 and in subsequent years.
Since then operating grants funding for BC public schools increased by 2.5% between 2013–14 and 2015–16, largely to cover the costs of the teachers’ labour settlement. However, this will do little to close the funding gap between BC and the rest of Canada. [https://bctf.ca/uploadedFiles/Public/Issues/EdFinance/EdFundingQA.pdf]

It seems illogical, with our province's economic prosperity, that our public education system is so impoverished. 

If proposing to close a school (that is almost full and in a growing community) isn’t a red flag that public education is in trouble in BC, I don’t know what is.  Please sign this petition, to show your support for local schools in the Slocan Valley, to request adequate funding for public education in BC, to put our children first.