Whose needs?

Declining enrolment is the Saanich School Board’s main reason for proposing to close Saanichton and McTavish Elementary Schools and consolidate the student population into one new school next to the Panorama Recreation Centre.

It is true that District-wide enrolment is declining however in the case of Saanichton and McTavish Schools enrolment is down for very different reasons. McTavish and all other North Saanich and Sidney schools are experiencing declining enrolments due to an aging population.

Saanichton is a different story. The population in Central Saanich is increasing and much younger than North Saanich and Sidney. In fact, when you look at the enrolment numbers for the three Central Saanich schools (Keating, Brentwood and Saanichton) there have never been more elementary school-age children (I'll provide the details in future postings).

So, where have all the children gone from Saanichton? The School District’s own enrolment numbers show that they have gone either to Keating Elementary (French immersion) or to Brentwood Elementary (because of closure rumours?).

Given that student populations are declining in Sidney and North Saanich but increasing in Central Saanich, does it really make sense to build a new school further from where the students are and will be in the future?

The School District’s response is that this is the only available land in the area. This is not true as Saanichton Elementary itself sits on perfectly viable land for a new school.

“The site is not big enough” the District retorts. Not true, schools are built all the time on smaller pieces of land (take a look at almost any school in Victoria).

“The sewer pump station needs upgrading and it is expensive”, the District says. True, but the expense is minor in comparison to the total cost of a school and the Province has already made it clear that money for capital (real things) is no problem: it is operating funds (money for teachers and staff) they do not want to give out.

So whose needs are being served by this new school? Is it the declining numbers of students in Sidney and North Saanich? Is it the Panorama Recreation Centre’s need for more program space? Is it the School Board because this was the easiest choice? Where in the priority list are the students in Central Saanich, the youngest and fastest growing municipality, fit into this choice of sites?