For the last five years, Hume Park Elementary has had to fight to stay open, and now parents at the school are going to have to pull out their boxing gloves one more time.
The board of education voted to move forward on a 45-day public consultation process to consider closing the small school, which has just 25 students. The district is contemplating shutting down the kindergarten-to-Grade-5 program for both educational and financial reasons (the closure would save $73,310), superintendent John Gaiptman said.
"I was charged with looking for ways to bring efficiencies educationally and financially in the district and felt that given the size of the school, it was imperative that the board look at it (closure) again," Gaiptman told The Record.
Enrolment at the school has dwindled significantly since the district first started considering its closure - going from about 60 students in 2009 down to about one-third of that this year.
A number of parents became frustrated with the school's uncertain future - it was on the chopping block three times over five years - and pulled their kids out of the school and moved them to other schools to ensure stability.
Currently, Hume Park has two teachers and two three-grade split classes – a kindergarten to grade 3 class and a Grade 3 to Grade 5 class. The school has two teachers.
As for next year, enrolment is expected to be even lower with just 19 students slated to turn up in the fall, according to Gaitpman.
"I think that anytime you have a school the size of Hume Park, it is imperative that boards look at these things and ask themselves the question whether or not it is the district's best interest if the school remains open," the superintendent said.
Gaiptman said closing Hume Park Elementary would not affect the Homelearners' program - a popular education program in the district that also operates out the school building.
In response to the news, the board heard from two concerned Hume Park parents at a recent meeting, Gaiptman said.
The 45-day process will include a special meeting on the possible closure of Hume Park, but a date has not yet been set.
"I think we have great neighbourhood schools in New West. I think that parents are very pleased with their neighborhood schools, and I expect that they will fight for their neighbourhood school," he said. "I'm sure I will hear from the parents of Hume Park. There is nothing more difficult that a board has to go through than the closure of a neighbourhood school."
Gaiptman, who recently joined the New Westminster school district, is no stranger to shutting down schools with declining enrolment. He closed seven schools – five in his first two years running the island district.
