Board concedes to school review extension

Schools throughout the Valley region can breath a little easier now. The Annapolis Valley Regional School Board (AVRSB) passed a motion Oct. 1 to allot schools a further six months to respond to the recent School Review process.

Superintendent Dr. Norm Dray said the board had received numerous letters from schools throughout the Annapolis Valley area requesting an extension. “They were experiencing time pressure and we really want them to be partners in the process” he said. “We decided to give the consultation phase more time.”

All but one board member agreed the original deadline of Sept. 30 was too stringent for the School Review.

Board member Paula Lunn said the original time-line was well thought out; however, considering schools were closed during much of the consultation period, it was only fair to allow them more time to collect and present the best information possible.

“Frankly, I don't think its fair of the Minister of Education to give the public only a few months to respond,” she said. “Schools need time to look over the documentation properly and prepare their thoughts on what community schools mean to them.”

The purpose of the review was to take a closer look at the future of regional schools in general and to engage schools and members of the public in ‘meaningful discussion.’ However, despite assurances from superintendent Dray that the process was for information-gathering purposes only, those schools that received a poor review were left fearing the worst.

Such was the case for the Hantsport School. The town hired a consultant to conduct its own public consultation and review. “In some cases, money has been spent in order to build an appropriate response in a short period of time,” Lunn said.

And with schools barely a month into the new school year, the deadline made it difficult for members of the Home and School associations to become involved in the process. “It’s hard to get people together during the summer months and in the fall schools are busy preparing for another year,” Lunn said.

She noted, as well, that with elections looming now was not an appropriate time to deal with issues arising from the review. Although she and many other board members are already in by acclamation, Lunn fears some candidates could hop on the school closure bandwagon. “I wouldn't want the review process to become an election issue,” she said. “The review concept is a good one but it leads people to think of school closures and that shouldn't spark an election issue since school closures are not under consideration at this time.”

Lunn has worked in the Hants County region against small school closure, and said at this time there is no reason for schools to become concerned. “We want to ensure community schools are kept in our community,” she said. “That is a priority.”

Lunn added, “we are in the process for searching for a new Superintendent and possibly some new board members. It would not be fair to for them either to jump into the situation unprepared.”