For the first time ever, Hapnot Collegiate and Creighton Community School produced almost the same number of graduates this year.
At Hapnot’s graduation ceremony last week, 38 grads and one honourary grad donned a cap and gown. Earlier in June, Creighton handed out diplomas to 33 young men and women.
These figures had one reader – and taxpayer, as he adamantly pointed out – suggesting to me that it was time to establish a single high school for the two communities. Call it the one-school model.
That’s the way it used to be. Until 2004, Creighton and Denare Beach students attended Creighton Community School up to grade 9 before venturing across the border for their final three years of high school.
The Creighton School Division’s decision to add grades 10, 11 and 12 was, to my mind, the most contentious local issue of the past 15 years. And yes, that includes the nuclear-waste storage and cottage-country annexation debates.
Each side had valid points. Supporters of the Creighton high school favoured local control of education, pointing out that Creighton taxpayers were doling out hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to Flin Flon School Division without a vote on how the money was spent. Supporters also tended to prefer smaller class sizes.
Opponents believed two schools would limit academic opportunities for all students, saying there is strength in numbers. They also tended to subscribe to the view that Flin Flon and Creighton are one community.
Interestingly, some of those who were most adamantly against the Creighton high school have since said the two-school model has worked well. Yet I have also had conversations with people who supported the two-school model at the time but now regret it.
Now, at least for my tax-weary reader, this whole debate should be resurrected in light of declining enrollment and the need to emphasize low taxes to ensure Creighton and Flin Flon are attractive, affordable communities.
Will this idea spread? Unlikely.
First, education officials in both Creighton and Flin Flon have not publicly expressed any interest in reverting back to the one-school model. This indicates there is no significant public appetite for such a move.
Second, despite my reader’s insistence that Flin Flon and Creighton start sharing more services, there really is no financial urgency on the part of either school division to contemplate a high school merger.
Both the Manitoba and Saskatchewan governments are extremely generous with their funding for public schools. Saskatchewan reportedly spends $1.88 billion on public education, with Manitoba up to more than $1.3 billion. Even school divisions with declining enrollments see more and more provincial cash flow their way.
As a result, property taxes now cover just one-third or so of school costs in both provinces. Whatever savings would stem from a high school merger, if any, would barely trickle down to the local taxpayer, if at all.
Besides, both Creighton Community School and Hapnot function at high levels today. That’s cause for celebration, even if one happens to think the one-school model would be even better.
So with apologies to my reader, this is one debate that appears not only over, but also unnecessary.
Local Angle is published Fridays.
