Some major stories stood out in education in 2013 in the Northwest region.
Many of the biggest education stories of the year concerned the Living Sky School Division, faced with some tough decisions in the face of a budget crunch.
The toughest issue that Living Sky School Division board had to face in 2013 was a decision on the future of Major School in a small community not far from the Alberta border.
Enrolment remained down at the school with little prospect of a turnaround.
Despite fierce lobbying from members of that community who wanted the school to remain open, the majority of Living Sky school board directors voted to close Major School at the conclusion of the 2013-14 school year.
Another big change this past year was the move of Grade 8 students from elementary schools into North Battleford Comprehensive High School starting in the fall of 2013. The move was made to alleviate the overcrowding pressures those schools were facing.
The board also voted to move ahead with renovations to the high school to accommodate that influx of students.
It was a project that forced Living Sky School Division to dip into its financial reserves. That was raised in the legislature in April during the "week of the Battlefords" in question period.
"In the Battlefords, the Living Sky School Division, the school board has been forced to dip into its reserves to fund day-to-day operations," noted David Forbes, education critic for the NDP, in his question to the minister of education. "And they were built up for emergencies, not day-to-day operations. Why has the Sask. Party government left school boards no options but to dip into their reserves to fund education?"
Then Education Minister Russ Marchuk responded by defending the government's funding of education. "This was not a status quo budget, it was a 2.3 per cent increase," said Marchuk. "And that increase took into account considerable monies for current enrolment."
Marchuk went on to criticize the NDP record saying, "the members opposite obviously are having a great deal of trouble with growth. They had trouble with growth for 16 years; in fact, there was no growth. And our government is prepared to deal with the issues of growth."
Light of Christ School Division dealt with similar budget pressures. Its board chair, Glen Gantefoer, posed a question directly to Finance Minister Ken Krawetz during his visit to North Battleford in April.
According to the News-Optimist account of April 10, Gantefoer raised concern about the government's challenge to school divisions to improve graduation rates. "We can do it, but it's going to require additional funding," said Gantefoer.
In response, Krawetz acknowledged there would be more to do but said education will continue to be a priority "and our $1.8 billion dollars speaks to that."
The provincial government was dealing with other issues in education as well, such as moves towards standardized testing which prompted a lot of discussion in the legislature.
As well, there were changes in the portfolio in the fall as Marchuk exited as minister of education in a cabinet shuffle, with Don Morgan replacing him.
It was not all gloom and doom, however. Many stories in 2013 highlighted efforts of students in the Battlefords and area to make the world a better place.
There were stories in the News-Optimist this past year on We Day held at Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon. Also, a number of students from Sakewew High School's Gay-Straight Alliance group went to Toronto in mid-May for the national OUTShine conference, one that included gay-straight alliance students from around Canada.
Another major issue that students from across all the school divisions tackled in 2013 was bullying and the impact of social media.
Organizers put together a Bully-Free Battlefords event Nov. 17, which attracted participation from students and teachers from Living Sky and Light of Christ school divisions as well as Sakewew High School. Speakers included retired Saskatoon Police Department sergeant Brian Trainor, Regina hip hop artist Unkle Adams, Pink Shirt Day co-founder Travis Price and local teacher Alexis Christenson, among others.
MLA Jennifer Campeau was in charge of the province's consultations on the bullying issue in June. The province released its action plan to combat bullying that same week.
Over 500 people were on hand at the Don Ross Centre for Bully Free Battlefords, designed to be a positive event to bring more awareness to the issue of bullying.
