In "Schools look for relief "(Citizen front page, Feb. 24) a statement is attributed to a person who seems to be in a position of knowledge (district parent advisory council president): "while there has been a 25-per-cent decrease in student enrolment, the number of schools has declined 47 per cent." By being quoted, the impression given is that this information is reliable and accurate.
However, a quick bit of research contradicts this assertion.
The student population was growing in the 1970s, and schools were built to accommodate the increasing numbers. However, for the last couple of decades, student numbers have been decreasing.
In The Citizen archives under "Scanning the decades" is the following item:
"September 1973. About 20,000 school children trudged back to classes in more than 60 Prince George district schools as this area continues to buck a nation-wide trend towards declining enrollments."
School District 57 currently lists 47 schools on their website (36 elementary schools, 1 middle school and 10 secondary schools). The projected 2014 enrollment is 12,063.
This shows a 40 per cent drop in student numbers, however the number of schools has only dropped 22 per cent. Logically, fewer students need fewer schools. To bring these numbers into balance, additional schools may need to close.
A school building is expensive to run. It is important to ensure that limited budget dollars are spent on educating the students, rather than on keeping the buildings open. Although people love their school buildings, it is important to understand that the most essential goal is to ensure the best education possible for each and every student. Let's keep the focus on the children, not the buildings.
R. Buckman
Prince George
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