Sarah Kloos

Special to the Valley Echo

The school district has recently released a draft version of its new Long Term Facility Plan to the public. The changes the school district has planned may affect both Eileen Madson Primary (EMP) School and J. A. LairdElementary School.

School District No. 6 potentially plans to split both schools and make them each a kindergarten to Grade 7 school to minimize the stress of changing schools. Personally, I was never stressed when I switched from EMP to Laird,but the transition from Laird to DTSS was more stressful. Making Laird and EMP separate elementary schools would only make the transition to high school worse. It’s already hard enough meeting kids from three other schools in Grade 8, and it would only be that much harder to add another school into the mix.

The schools (EMP and J.A. Laird) aren’t even a kilometre away from each other, and there would be kids the same age who live in the same town who wouldn’t even know each other. It would also create competition between the schools. The kids would be competing against each other in competitive sports and trying to prove that they’re the better school. That isn’t what local kids should be focused on at a young age.

Everybody who has questions or concerns about the school district’s plan is encouraged to attend the public meeting tonight (Wednesday, October 5th) at David Thompson Secondary School at 7 p.m. This meeting will be a great opportunity to communicate with the school district and share any thoughts people may have.

It’s important to voice our opinions on this subject. We have the opportunity to be involved in the future of our schools, and we should take advantage of this opportunity, because it may not come again.

Sarah is a Grade 12 DTSS Work Experience student interning with The Echo.