The Kootenay Lake School District’s plan to rid itself of the costs of operating and maintaining the Creston Education Centre did not receive any expressions of interest on a BC Bid listing.
With an eye to reducing its financial burden, the Board of Education opted to post a listing on the provincial government web site in the spring, despite opposition from RDCK, Town of Creston and Valley Community Services representatives, who wanted to negotiate with SD8.
“We don’t have $10,000 to put down to make a proposal,” VCS executive director Justine Keirn told the Advance at the time. Keirn was optimistic that a joint effort between her agency and local government could preserve the use of CEC for the numerous early childhood programs housed in the facility, as well as the Home Links and Wildflower programs.
“But we need time to work with the school district and come up with a plan,” she said.
RDCK Area A director Garry Jackman has been spearheading an effort by local governments to explore ways of preserving CEC and its programs. He has expressed the group’s frustration with SD8’s process and disputes assertions that the school district has co-operated with CEC stakeholders.
Following is a press release issued earlier in June.
“In July, 2016 the SD8 (Kootenay Lake) Board of Education approved a long-range facilities plan that contemplates a number of strategies throughout the District to meet educational and asset pool liability issues. Recognizing that a significant amount of learning resources are being directed to support increasing maintenance challenges, and with a capital inventory that includes an excess of 1700 unfilled student spaces throughout the District, it is important that the Board seeks to significantly reduce the amount of underutilized space. The Board has included in the Plan an effort to attend to a deferred maintenance deficit that mounts exponentially each year.
“Trustees and District Staff met again with the Creston community on April 25, 2017 to review its progress since July, 2016 relative to the Facilities Plan.
As part of its plan, the Board contemplates closing the Creston Education Centre and relocating District programs and services to vacant spaces owned by the District in the Creston area.
“Responding to the community of Creston during both the Facilities Plan and school closure consultations, the Board expressed an interest in negotiating with local organizations, including RDCK, the Town of Creston, and several interested community service organizations to transfer ownership or shift financial burden so that the Board of Education could redirect its resources from costly building maintenance, to the learning needs of children enrolled in K-12 throughout the Creston Community. To this end, Staff met with local representatives last year to explain the process the District would undertake to invite proposals and possible scenarios.
“An Expressions of Interest document was posted to BC Bid, and local organizations were invited to submit proposals for the Board’s consideration. As of the May 31, 2017 closing date of the EOI process, no proposals were received.
At its June 13 Regular Meeting, the SD8 (Kootenay Lake) Board of Education indicated its next steps with regard to the implementation of the Facilities plan, relative to the Creston Education Centre:
By October 15, 2017, Staff will provide an update on capacity utilization for the Creston Family of Schools, including the impact, if any, on vacant space available within the Creston Family of Schools;
Prior to October, 2017 Trustees and staff will meet with Creston community organizations still interested in shared responsibility for the building.
“In the meantime, Staff has been directed to seek approval to dispose of Creston Education Centre from the Minister of Education. If the updated capacity utilization for the Creston Family of Schools continues to support the Creston scenario in the Board approved Facilities Plan, the Board will place the Creston Education Centre on the market for sale and disposition unless a plan to transfer ownership or shift financial burden is successfully negotiated between the Creston community organizations and the Board.
“Given the rich input provided by the Town of Creston, the Regional District, third party service organizations located at the Creston Education Centre, and the community at large, over a two year consultation period, to maintain existing early learning and K-12 services at the Creston Education Centre, the Board was surprised by the lack of interest in the Expression of Interest process. It should also be noted that, in response to the same input from the community, and the Board’s commitment to the unique circumstance at the Creston Education Centre, the CEC school closure bylaw was the only bylaw resulting from the Facilities Plan that considered transferring title or sharing financial burden (seeking a partner) to the community, rather than outright closure as with the other bylaws. Despite the lack of submissions from the community, the Board remains interested in meeting with the community, should the community desire, a final time before taking next steps to dispose of the property. “
Jackman has responded with an email to SD8 board chairwoman Lenora Trenamen:
“I have attached a letter to you and the Board of Education which expresses my opinion of the process which has been followed around the proposed closure of the Creston Education Center. If you come to the community of Creston yourself and ask others what they think you may find my opinions are similar to those of others.
“I could summarize the numerous times when I or others have approached the Board of Education to express interest in establishing a community driven process to find mutually beneficial results to retain the best of what is offered through the CEC while assisting the Board of Education with meeting their financial objectives. If you reflect on past conversations you may come to realize that myself and others were told repeatedly that we would have to wait.
“We were told to wait while the facilities review played out. We were told to wait while the Board (or administration) determined what process would be used to decide the fate of the CEC. Eventually we were told a decision was taken to use BC Bid and we would have to wait to see which parties, in secret and in isolation of one another, expressed interest in the facility. We were also told of the ground rules which included single point contact between any interested party and one SD8 staff person.
“A great deal of time has gone by without open, two way conversations. In the balance hangs the efficient, effective delivery of many community services.”
Jackman’s letter to SD8 follows: “In response to the press release dated 15 June 2017 from Superintendent Jones regarding the Creston Education Center, I am not surprised that you did not receive any bid packages. I believe my views are shared by many others within the community who have a common interest in retaining the valuable programming which Valley Community Services deliver from the site while increasing the community usage of the facility. Ultimately we feel the community can help reduce the financial burden on the school district as well as maximize community benefits.
“Your board should not confuse the lack of interest in participating in the restrictive process set out by your BC Bid terms with lack of interest in the facility or the community. The process required a cash deposit which most groups could not afford. The process precluded an open dialogue with our trustees. Although the process suggested a negotiation period, many assumptions around price and outcomes appeared pre-determined, possibly driven by the SD administration more than by the trustees. Perhaps a firm opening position and formal bid submission is good for private business negotiations, but not so for community negotiations around community property.
“Dialogue over the past several years has been in “fits and starts” and not as inclusive as some community members envisioned it would be. Even the latest community meeting called by the SD8 administration was short notice, resulting in a relatively sparse turnout. At the meeting prior to the BC Bid process being activated attendees were asked to sign a non-disclosure form when the majority of information was taken from public documents. The process was geared more to limit conversation than to foster sharing ideas and joint problem solving.
“Your press release sets out what you view to be the next steps. Next steps for community groups will likely include direct contact with the Minister of Education requesting a review of the appropriateness of the process used by SD8. Next steps should also include updated student enrollment projections, given the 2016 census results which vary from the earlier provincial projections, along with a revised projection of the number of classrooms required at each site given the Supreme Court ruling on class size.
“Most important, next steps need to be collaborative, not administrative in nature.”
Creston Mayor Ron Toyota said on Tuesday that any discussions with the school district will be fruitless unless there is a willingness by board of education trustees to participate.
“We need to see a genuine interest in collaborating, especially from our local trustees (Rebecca Huscroft, Heather Suttie and Cody Beebe). A positive outcome will require their support and participation.”