The future looks increasingly bleak for Major School.
A final vote by the Living Sky School Division board is set for April 24, and at the moment it looks as if most board members are leaning towards closing the school in Major, located west of Kerrobert near the Alberta border.
Based on discussion at their meeting April 10, there was little appetite among most board members for keeping the school open, given mounting budget pressures and continued low enrolment numbers at the school.
The school has around 50 students, and board chair Ken Arsenault noted enrolment has essentially not changed since 2009, when it was also up for review by the board.
"There's been no growth since the last review," said Arsenault at the meeting.
"If there was any growth, any glimmer of continued growth, I would be supporting the school."
In speaking to reporters following the meeting Arsenault expanded further on the enrolment situation at Major.
He noted it was "quite a bit below the threshold for a K-to-12 school, which is 88 students now."
That 88-student minimum is mandated by the province. As well, the pupil-teacher ratio of seven students to one teacher is considered quite high, said Arsenault.
"Across the division we have a PTR of 14.25 to one, where Major is quite a bit higher. So the cost per student is larger there."
Another concern is maintaining the building. Facilities manager Brian Bossaer told the board that physically the inside of Major school is in good shape due to some upgrades that had been done in recent years. The big concern was the roof, which is in need of repairs.
Another issue discussed was bussing students to new school locales in Kerrobert and Luseland should the school be closed. Arsenault told reporters after the meeting that it's likely most of the students would go to Luseland which is 30 kilometres away from Major.
During the discussion, board members made their feelings known about how they would vote on the Major School. In general, their mood was grim as they considered the options.
One proposal that had little support at the board table was reconfiguring the grades to turn the school into a K-through-8 facility.
Board members generally expressed their view that the school either stay K-through-12 or be closed completely.
The majority seemed to lean towards closure, with enrolment numbers weighing heavily.
"It all comes down to money," noted board member Bob Foreman. "I think as a board we have a responsibility to deal with this situation."
Others pointed to the shortfall Living Sky School Division faced as a major factor.
"The budget really put the nail in the coffin," said board member Todd Miller. "I was somewhat swayable - I'm not sure I am anymore. I went into it very open minded, but I think we have to be fiscally responsible."
However, there was an appeal made to keep the school open. Board member Jack Snell, whose District 6 includes Major, made a pitch to keep Major School open for another three years.
"Then we're going to have a clearer picture of our enrolments, a clear picture of our finances, and we can make a clear picture of this decision," said Snell.
He said there is no solid picture on finances and also pointed to transportation costs.
"I see it as $50,000 a year in transportation," said Snell. He also pointed to other costs that would go up elsewhere if the Major school is closed.
"I think there are other ways we can look at saving money rather than closing the building," said Snell. Board member Garth Link also expressed support for Snell's position to keep the school open three more years.
Board chair Ken Arsenault leaned towards closure, however, citing not only the lack of enrolment growth but also a lack of extracurricular activities there as well.
"They were arranging rides back from Luseland for kids that were in extracurricular in Luseland," he noted.
Weighing on the mind of Arsenault was the impact the closure would have on Major itself, a village of 61 residents according to the 2011 Census.
"The fact of the matter is the school is basically the last thing in that community, and I understand they're fighting for their community, because I come from a small community that's not many years away from Major," said Arsenault.
He did propose, however, that the school remain open for one final year of "celebration" before closing at the end of the school year in July 2014.
"That gives our staff time to find other positions within the division, because if the school closes in July they've already missed out on some opportunities," said Arsenault. It also would give students and parents time to accept the change, he said.
Still, no final decision on Major School will be made until the final vote by the board at their April 24 meeting.
