The challenges facing our schools are stunning. With declining enrolment, transfer of provincial burdens, and new school construction, we are short $7 million. Sadly, there will be layoffs and cutbacks throughout the district. Shrinking schools, many of which are below 30 per cent capacity, face "right-sizing." Rural students will face long commutes in exchange for a sustainable school with a range of services and programs. I get this. The part that confuses me is why viable programs have to be dismantled. We have successful dual-track French immersion schools in College Heights, the Bowl, and the Hart. We've enroled our daughter in one of these so she could learn French and reflect our vision of what it means to be an inclusive English Canadian in a bilingual nation scarred by separatism. We have to drive her there, but it's a school grounded in its neighbourhood, the kind of place where English and French have a legacy of mutual understanding reinforced for eight years. Families with one child suited for immersion and another not ready for it will now face the choice of sending siblings to two schools, or withdrawing one from the immersion program. The idea of a segregated French school as the only option for bilingualism does not appeal to us as a social or educational environment. It won't save money either as John McInnis, the intended segregated school, is already targeted for closure, immersion can consolidate in the Hart at Heather Park, and the other two dual-track schools are already viable (because of immersion). Placing all 650 elementary immersion students in one building designed for 450 teenagers requires extensive renovations and sends a few messages: the most benign is to expect an enrollment cap, portables, or an overflow school (assuming parents haven't already said no thanks). I'd hoped that the message would be that integrated French immersion is something our district does well and will continue to support. We have the creativity and space to consider alternatives, protect or expand viable programs, and still save money. I hope the trustees take French segregation off the table and focus on areas of decline, largesse, and mitigating the cutbacks on affected communities.
Glen Thielmann
Prince George
