The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Creighton and Denare Beach residents want more time to do their homework before reaching a decision on the potential high school in Creighton. That was a predominant theme Wednesday at a taxpayer forum attended by about 100 people in the Creighton Community School gymnasium. "I really don't feel that anybody in the community has had ample time or ample information to really make an intelligent decision," one man told the Creighton School Board members, drawing an enthusiastic round of applause from the crowd. "I'm sure there are many positives and there's probably many negatives, but the biggest issue I have is the time frame." At their meeting this Tuesday, December 16, the Creighton board will vote whether to add a high school to Creighton Community School or to postpone the decision. The meeting will be held in the gymnasium of Creighton school. A feasibility report on the potential high school has been available since early October, but a lot of residents, including many who attended a parent forum on Tuesday, feel the matter is being rushed. That concern will be taken into account, board Chair Terry Brown told the crowd Wednesday, adding that the trustees don't feel hurried because they have been looking at the matter for months. The Creighton School Division currently pays roughly $900,000 a year to send about 130 Creighton and Denare Beach students to high school in Flin Flin at Hapnot Collegiate and Many Faces Education Centre. Similar to the forum with parents held Tuesday, Wednesday's gathering brought forth passionate views from people on both sides of the high school debate. However, the atmosphere appeared less divisive. The majority of people who have made up their minds did not speak favourably of the high school concept. It was no secret that a number of people in the crowd were unhappy that the Creighton School Division pays the Flin Flon division tuition fees but lacks representation on the Flin Flon board. But rather than getting angry, several attendees called on the Creighton trustees to continue to work with their Flin Flon counterparts on a partnership that satisfies both sides. "If this high school doesn't come to light, will our trustees be the bigger, better and more responsible board members," said one woman, "and wipe the slate clean and dig your heels in to resolve the matter with the Flin Flon School Board about having a voting member on the Flin Flon School Board?" A taxpayer called it "ludicrous" that residents of Flin Flon and Creighton haven't been lobbying politicians "to make things work" from an educational point of view. See 'Referendum' P.# Con't from P.# At least two people went as far as suggesting that the neighbouring school divisions should amalgamate, but Creighton Director of Education Austin Gerein was weary of that idea due to the small size of Creighton's student body compared to that of Flin Flon. "They're big, we're small," he said, adding that Creighton school "would still be here but it would not be the same." Little skepticism was expressed that it is feasible to add grades 10, 11 and 12 to Creighton school. The question for many people, however, was whether such a move is required. "I would say that there's no doubt that we can offer university entrance education to the students," said one man. "Yes, we can do it, but do we need to when we could possibly tweak the present system and make it work?" Chair Brown assured the crowd that his board is willing to work with the Flin Flon trustees, adding that the two sides met last week. The idea that the high school debate should be decided through a referendum had many supporters. Two women who demanded the board allow the matter to go to a community vote each drew a round of applause. "Absolutely terrified" was how one parent described his feeling that that Creighton high school "won't work." He wondered what would happen if this turned out to be the case. Another opponent of the high school, a former member of the Creighton board, pointed out that the Creighton School Division has built up a surplus of $1 million and said that the issue can't be about money. While some people think highly of small class sizes, one parent suggested that the smaller classes at the Creighton high school would result in a "culture shock" when the students reach the largest class of university. Another concern raised was that the potential high school could not, in one parent's view, feasibly duplicate an alternative high school program the calibre of Many Faces in Flin Flon. Director of Education Gerein replied by saying that sending Creighton and Denare Beach students to Many Faces would still be an option if the high school goes ahead. For all of the negative statements made about the high school concept throughout the evening, some strong support was expressed. A young mother brought a handful of people to their feet when she told the crowd that many Cree students desperately want to attend high school in Creighton, where she said they feel welcome. She made mention of her daughter, saying that "going to Hapnot wouldn't be good for her." "My friends that I went to school with here (at Creighton school) did not go to high school," she said. "I see the Creighton high school as a very, very good opportunity for our kids, and when I say our kids, I mean our native kids." Another resident commented that declining enrollments are already hurting Creighton school, saying a number of rooms are no longer used as regular classrooms. "I say change and grow," he said. At one point, a woman declared that "our kids won't be numbers, they will be individuals" at the Creighton high school. A Creighton school teacher told the crowd that some of his students do not wish to continue with athletics once they reach Hapnot "and that worries me." A report released in October by a task force assembled by the board concluded that it is feasible to add grades 10, 11 and 12 to the school, with or without the possible addition of a second storey atop the building. The Creighton board says it will obtain $300,000 in additional revenue, much of it in grants, by establishing a high school. The board also says it has allocated staff and funding to teach nearly 80 high school courses, including high level offerings like chemistry and biology, even if the enrollments are small.12/12/03
