The Prairie Valley Board of Education has completed public consultation meetings in the 11 communities whose schools are currently being reviewed by the Board to determine their viability.

Board Chair Rod Luhning says the meetings were well attended and gave Board members and central office staff an opportunity to learn more about the unique needs and features of the individual school communities.

“We were looking for information that we could not generate ourselves, any type of considerations or scenarios that we should be aware of when making our decisions,” Luhning says. “We received that – and more. We saw and heard how passionate people are about their schools and, while that ultimately may make our decision more difficult, it also showed us that we are on track with the quality education we are delivering across our division. Now, we need to ensure we can sustain that quality.

The Board will continue to consider input and seek further information in the coming weeks as it works toward a final decision in May. Parents and electors in the division have several ways to share their opinions and ideas with the Board, including:

-Completing the school division survey on line at www.pvsd.ca/survey;
-Completing a paper copy of the survey available online or at the local school;
-Writing a letter or email to the Board; and/or
-Presenting at one of two special delegation days set aside by the Board to receive information on the school consultation and review process.

“We want to give everyone a chance for input, even if they couldn’t make it to a meeting or don’t have a school that’s under review,” Luhning says. “We need to remember that we have 35 schools that aren’t under review whose services and students may well be affected by decisions we make about these 11.”

The 11 under review are Earl Grey, Francis, Glenavon, Gray, Kennedy-Langbank, Lang, McLean, Odessa, Saar (Kronau), Sedley and Wilcox. Enrolment in the schools ranges from 11 to 103. Student enrolment has been declining across the division- and in many of these communities-for a number of years and is expected to continue to decline. The division currently serves 8000 students, which is projected to drop to 7000 by 2011.

Jan Chell, Director of Education for Prairie Valley, says that while small schools can often provide high-quality learning environments, the reality is that the division can’t afford to sustain that model across the division. “It becomes a process, then, of balancing the needs of students across the division and find a reasonable compromise between small classrooms and sustainable supports for the students in those classrooms,” she says.

The Prairie Valley School Division serves more than 8000 students in 46 schools throughout south-eastern Saskat-chewan. Its goal is to provide leadership in learning and in life so that its students are successful now and well-prepared for their future. It strives to provide high-quality education services in a fiscally responsible manner.