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May 25, 2015 - 6:00 PM
KAMLOOPS – The future of the Beattie School of the Arts amalgamation will be discussed by the board of education tonight, May 25, but whether this information will be presented publically or not is a matter for the board.
There will be a closed meeting prior to the School District 73 regular meeting, where it will be decided if the report will be brought forward tonight or at a later time.
Asst. Supt. Alison Sidow would not comment on what was to be discussed nor whether the timelines for the original plans were to schedule.
This is a topic the board has been considering since at least the fall of 2013. It was determined the district would renovate the secondary school campus on Ninth Avenue to allow the elementary school level of Beattie School of the Arts to move to the downtown campus. Stuart Wood School would then close in the fall of 2016 and its students moved to the McGill Road campus.
The Stuart Wood School, opened in 1907, has become too costly to maintain, according to the district. Due to its heritage status the board has faced limitations to renovations and have instead opted to turn the school back over to the city.
Closing Stuart Wood has been a contentious issue for several reasons, including downtown residents not wanting to lose their only English downtown elementary school. This issue was so contentious a law suit was filed Feb. 6, citing the process to close the school was 'deeply flawed.' Th organization behind the law suit eventually dropped it because it was deemed too expensive without the probability of success.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Dana Reynolds at dreynolds@infonews.ca or call 250-819-6089. To contact an editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2015