New Westminster school board has voted unanimously to cut the district’s continuing education late afternoon and daytime programs.
There will only be a night program at the new high school come September, the board decided at Tuesday night’s school board meeting.
The issue came down to space and financial constraints, according to the school district.
Trustee Gurveen Dhaliwal suggested only cutting the daytime program and leaving the late afternoon program, which would cost the district an additional $68,000, she pointed out.
“I think, for me, that’s a good way to sort of assess what the uptake is, and if the afternoon turns out to be more used than the evening, that gives us something to work with,” she said at the meeting.
That money would have to come from somewhere else, district superintendent Karim Hachlaf said.
“In considering the late afternoon program, there are logistical considerations. We do feel that there is an opportunity, given it’s after the traditional school day, to accommodate classes within a particular section of the new school. And though we have other programs operating, we feel that, given the size of the school, there could be a shared space for that,” he said. “The additional cost – $68,000 is the difference right now – that would lead to the senior team looking to another place for that savings. Given we’re looking at operational efficiencies and balancing the budget, if the board were to make that decision, we would look at other areas to offset that increased cost.”
The majority of trustees said they did not want to go that route.
“While it’s difficult to make this decision, I feel that leaving it with just the evening program is the route that I would support,” trustee Dee Beattie said. “I think we need to look at staff that are not working full-time. That $68,000 could possibly go to increase hours, that $68,000 could be an educational assistant.”
She said she would like to reassess all the programs in February 2021, for the 2021/2022 school year.
Trustees Maya Russell and Danielle Connelly agreed.
“I think I would go with going down to just the evening program, in the hopes that we can really bolster that enrolment and be in a different position in a year,” Russell said.
“It does concern me to recognize $68,000 would have to be found elsewhere and what that could mean for our schools,” Connelly responded.
The president of the New Westminster Teachers’ Union, Eric Young, directed questions to the board regarding logistical concerns such as whether or not there might be childminding options for night school students, whether there were course options in Burnaby for New West students, and whether or not Douglas College might offer courses that are similar to what the district had been providing.
Trustees discussed child care and what the options might be to help nighttime students.
Connelly suggested providing a room at the new high school, where the night program would likely take place, for childcare.
Dhaliwal said the district couldn’t provide child care, but perhaps they could partner with the city on that.
Board chair Anita Ansari reiterated they should discuss the future of the program next year.
“Let’s see where we go with the evening program in a year, and if we find that we have the demand, we have people coming back with feedback that the afternoon would work better for them, when we revisit this and the future steps that we make in February,” she said. “We can have a more holistic discussion when we see what kind of people are showing up and what their needs end up being.”
Marcel Marsolais, president of CUPE Local 409, was at the meeting and spoke to the board about their decision. CUPE Local 409 represents school district support staff.
“I think the board needs to pay attention to revenue and the loss of revenue. The loss of revenue from the home learners’ program was substantial, and the budget took a hit for that ,” he said. “If at all possible, the board needs to look at restoring that because often these people are trying to get their Dogwood, and they’re working night shifts, and they’re working two to three jobs at minimum wage to get there, so those options need to be open to them.”
There are 888 students enrolled this year, according to a report from Bettina Ketcham, the district’s secretary-treasurer, and on average each student takes 2.2 courses.
Of those 888 students, 55% are enrolled in daytime courses and 9% are enrolled in late-afternoon courses.
Cutting the daytime and late afternoon programs would result in $911,706 less funding from the government but would also mean saving $974,343, according to another report from Ketcham. Anticipated growth in the night program is estimated to bring in an additional $87,077.
