At Tuesday night’s public meeting the Board of Education discussed the fate of Wildwood Elementary School.
Since 21 April 2015, the Wildwood Elementary School facility has been temporarily closed due to flooding and mould issues.
Wildwood Elementary has operated as a “school within a school” out of Marie Sharpe Elementary in Williams Lake for the balance of the school year.
A public consultation forum was held on June 16 where 25-30 staff, parents, government representatives, and citizens gathered to hear firsthand the extent of the devastation the flooding caused to the building, to ask questions, and to present ideas.
Wildwood Elementary School PAC president, with support of other parents, addressed the Board last night, in a final plea to keep the school open.
After a lengthy debate of the options that may be available to the Board and citing the insurmountable costs to remediate the existing site and costs to replace the facility, the Board, in the end, unanimously agreed to close the school.
The Board also passed a motion to incorporate the Wildwood Elementary School catchment area into the Marie Sharpe catchment area. This means that the existing students of Wildwood become students of Marie Sharpe Elementary School.
The Board further approved changes that will allow current families of Wildwood Elementary, wishing to enrol in a different school than Marie Sharpe Elementary, special consideration. Parents wanting to explore this avenue should contact their School Principal or the School Board Office. Bus routes will also be reviewed by District Staff.
Board Chair, Tanya Guenther said, “As I stated last month, this was a very difficult decision to make and it was not made lightly. Although the outcome is not one that anyone wanted, we thank the parents and the community for their patience and understanding as we worked through this process. We wish the students and their families a great summer and a rewarding 2015/16 school year as they officially join the community of Marie Sharpe elementary.”