Okanagan Skaha School District is ready to launch its next round of community engagement sessions about the recommendations to close three schools, eliminate the middle school model and go back to elementary and high schools.
Upcoming Community Engagement Sessions for the Long-Range Facilities Plan:
March 4, 6 to 8 p.m., Skaha Lake Middle School Gym
March 5, 6 to 8 p.m., KVR Middle School Gym
March 7, 6 to 8 p.m., Summerland Middle School Gym
The 60 days of public engagement ends April 5.
Then the board will review community input received to date.
On April 10, a special board meeting will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. to review the proposed closures and reconfiguration to due with low enrolment and the best use of facilities. At that meeting, there is a potential for a motion to adopt the recommendations that night.
Four public sessions were held in the beginning of February. The March sessions will follow the same format of open table discussions and info panels.
READ MORE: Penticton and Summerland school closure plan going to the public
Under the proposed changes, Giant’s Head Elementary in Summerland and two Penticton schools, Carmi Elementary and Parkway ,would be closed in the 2025-26 school year. In addition, Summerland Middle School, Kettle Valley Middle (KVR) School and Skaha Lake Middle School would become elementary schools.
If the plan is approved, the middle school transition for Grade 7s is expected to happen first in the next school year 2024-25 with current Grade 7s moving over to the high schools.
In Penticton, the elementary schools would have Kindergarten to Grade 7, while the city’s two high schools would have Grades 8 to 12.
Carmi Elementary students will move over to KVR in 2025 and Parkway students will move to the newly converted Skaha Lake Elementary.
At present, the school district has an enrolment of 5,741 students, a decrease of 36 per cent since 2001. Penticton schools are at 82 per cent of capacity, while Summerland schools are at 69 per cent of capacity. The district is projecting minimal growth in student enrolment over the next 10 years, a range of 160 to 300 students.
One Penticton resident wrote the district to ask if the future enrolment projections include the massive amount of housing infill taking place over the next 10 years, including the proposal to bring 1,200 to 1,500 new housing units to Government Street in Penticton.
Wiltse is also proposed to get 700 new homes over that same time period.
The Long-Range Facilities Engagement website letsconnect.sd67.bc.ca has received over 2,400 total visits since being activated on Jan. 24.