Innovative ways to save Trout Creek, West Bench Elementary Schools

SUMMERLAND — Summerland parents are refusing to give up the fight to keep Trout Creek Elementary open, despite the local school board’s decision to the school last month.

READ MORE: Decision Day for Okanagan-Skaha school closures.

Parent Megan Steele recently found a solution she says would solve the school district’s budget and low enrollment problems.

“The school board asked us: Show us the money. And we showed them the money. They said: Bring us the students. So we said we can bring you a school full of students,” said Steele.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The school board asked us: Show us the money. And we showed them the money. They said: Bring us the students. So we said we can bring you a school full of students," said Steele.

Those students, about 40 of them, would come from Summerland Montessori School, an independent school.

Under the plan, two or three classrooms would be dedicated to Montessori students, where they’d be able to continue their style of learning.

Sheena Fowlie, the head of school for Summerland Montessori, said both schools would benefit; Montessori students would no longer have to pay tuition and each of those new students would bring more provincial funding to Trout Creek Elementary.

“On the one hand, it is very exciting. It would be beneficial to them and to us, and on the other hand, there’d be lots of details that need to be worked out,” said Fowlie.

Parents presented this plan to School Board #67 this week.

After hearing the proposal, trustee Bruce Johnson put forward a motion to rescind the school closure decision, which will be discussed next month.

“If there’s anything I like, it is common sense, logic and win-win,” said Johnson. “With that new information, I don’t see any problem in going back, examining the whole situation and then making an informed decision.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "If there's anything I like, it is common sense, logic and win-win," said Johnson. "With that new information, I don't see any problem in going back, examining the whole situation and then making an informed decision."

If this proposal gets the green light, parents have calculated it would make the district nearly $220,000 in the first year thanks to B.C.’s Small Community Grant and the extra students. The only expense would be the extra three teachers needed.

Johnson’s motion also applied to West Bench Elementary.

Michael Brydon, the regional district director for West Bench, recently proposed a special tax that only West Bench residents would pay to keep the local elementary school open.

Brydon says there are some people who are against the idea, but the majority of people are willing to pay about $220 per household because they don’t want to see their property values drastically drop.

“If a young family drives up to this beautiful, boarded-up school — that’s not good for anyone. The families are in favour, but even people who don’t have families and are tired, they stand to lose a lot more if the school closes than if they’re asked to pay a tax.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "If a young family drives up to this beautiful, boarded-up school — that's not good for anyone. The families are in favour, but even people who don't have families and are tired, they stand to lose a lot more if the school closes than if they're asked to pay a tax."

The regional district’s 2016 budget has already been finalized, so if there is a special tax, it won’t be implemented until next year.

This decision also hinges on whether the school board will reconsider its decision.