|
|
Prince Rupert Regional Information
Site |
||||
|
|
Did you see the
‘Snowdrop’ flowers? Here on 2nd Ave 10th
St See more below
|
|
|
Why & How
they are doing it -- |
|
A
good PPT presentation – which will ‘soon’ be put up on the School District’s
web site |
|
|
Falling
population --- do we put money into maintaining emptying buildings or into
teaching children? |
|
This is a problem that
Rupert needs to address --- a declining population while the infrastructure
(buildings and ‘jobs’) remained unchanged – there has always been the hope
that another boom was just around the corner – so lets keep all the schools,
recreation facilities, staff etc But ‘reality’ says
both tax base and population will continue to decline – so what is to be
done? |
|
|
If there
have to be cuts let it be elsewhere |
|
Unfortunately
the discussion tends to become structured along why ‘my neighbourhood school’
should be maintained --- and not what is best for Rupert – or all the kids’
education No
one willing to say ‘we will pay higher taxes’ etc |
|
|
Parents
presentation (PAC) to meeting by Andrew Mayer |
|
After the Board’s
PPT presentation Mr Mayer gave an almost equally lengthy presentation on why
Westview should be maintained --- then many parents etc came to the
microphone to speak I will summarise
these arguments later in week – but note how similar to say the Seal Cove school closure discussion
in 2007 where ‘school culture’, playgrounds and equipment plus programs seen
as making for a special place – and then there was walkable vs bus etc |
|
As Calvin Thompson brought out – we
have seen this closure discussion before – Seal Cove and Kanata etc—see my earlier for the problem as
seen then: ‘catchment areas etc – more later |
We have been
here before |
|
I
would think maybe 75 people showed up to listen and give their input The
gym brought back memories of other canvassing of the community – like the OCP
done here at Westview – and at that time ( again 2007) my fascination with the ‘container’ (the
gymnasium, etc ) |
|
Image above from City
Council meeting where ANBT asks for funding help—which was denied unless
run a deficit – which I interpret
as revealing racist subtext n PR |
And there is
also the sub-text of race as in many present discussions |
|
Mr
Bill White, proudly first Nation, had the best line addressing the Board:
‘you will listen, but you will not hear’ – but others (in sense of upper
middle class parents) used the
‘threat’ to send their kids to Annunciation rather than Roosevelt etc – more
later |
|
Wikipedia has discussion
of early flowerer Galanthus nivalis
Close up of
flower shows it is the Flore Pleno variety
|
Snowdrop flower in bloom – seems
awfully early
|
|
|
Created by LG on 10/2/2010
Last updated on Thursday, February 11, 2010