A decision has been made that in the fall, Arborfield School will become a K-6 school, while older students will be bused to Carrot River. Facebook/Arborfield School

By Doug Lett

Arborfield School Reaction

Parents in Arborfield still plan to push for K-12 school

Apr 28, 2023 | 8:00 AM

Many parents in Arborfield are unhappy with the decision to stop offering grades 7-12 at the Arborfield School.

The North East School Division made the decision this week, because of declining enrolment. The division was considering closing the school entirely and busing students to Carrot River. But trustees voted to keep Kindergarten to Grade 6 in Arborfield. The decision to discontinue the higher grades is effective July 3, 2023.

“It’s better than a full closure,” said George Schroepfer, who still plans to pursue a court injunction against the closure.

“But it’s not the result we wanted…it’s just disappointing,” he said.

“I’m extremely disappointed in the vote,” added Melissa Gray, who is with the School Community Council (SCC) in Arborfield.

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“I have not talked to a single parent” (in favour of closing), she said. “Our whole community of multiple parents came together to rally.”

Gray said the community is still looking at different options to keep the school as a K-12 entity. She pointed to the importance of high school sports.

“We’re a fairly active family, like our kids are involved in as many sports as can be,” she said. “I’m in no position to drive to Carrot River everyday after school to pick up or drop off my kids multiple times in the evening for different sports …my kids are going to lose out on sports.”

She said one avenue the community is pursuing is having Arborfield declared a “school of opportunity.” It’s a little used designation that allows the Minister of Education to keep a school open if it’s future economic prospects look good – even if a school division has decided to close it.

“We have multiple options left….to me, the decision isn’t finalized,” she said.

And Schroepfer said they also plan on trying for a court injunction to stop the partial closure.

“I mean, right now, as I speak to the lawyers are drawing up the draft for the application for an injunction,” he said. “We’re hoping to have a court date before the middle of June.”

Both Gray and Schroepfer believe the town is growing – and the school will grow with it.

“We’re going to be upwards of 114 kids in K-12. So for us, that’s why we want to keep the school because…people are moving home. The town is renewing,” he said.

He said while Carrot River is only about 25 kilometers from Arborfield, some students would have faced a bus ride of more than an hour, just going one way.

The Director of Education for the NESD told northeastNOW it was a tough decision – but made in the best interests of students.

“I think (the board is) balancing the best way they could to keep what hopefully will be a strong and viable K-6 school,” said Stacy Lair.

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doug.lett@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: DougLettSK