Our School's Future - revisited

There were a number of comments and questions regarding this post. Mr. Barkley has posted a comment to help clarify the questions that have come up. Here is the comment:


I understand how this process will present challenges to specific families and raise many questions with others. Please know that the CBE has students as their first filter for decision-making. Having said that, sometimes what is "best" is not always attainable, or easy, so in lieu of what is best, we go with what is most manageable and what is the least disruptive to students.

I will attempt to clear up the misunderstanding concerning the teacher issue. As presented at the meeting, it is true that the teachers WILL move with the students when the kids transition to the new building. It is not up to the teachers whether they move with the students. The confusion lies in the process (which will take a bit of text to clarify so please be patient).

Teachers currently employed at Haultain Memorial teach Haultain students. This year that means they teach 302 students from Queensland area as well as McKenzie Towne. Next year the population Queensland will remain close to what it is now, at approximately 120 students. As McKenzie Towne will have their own school next year (and those teachers MUST move to the new building), the roughly 200 McKenzie Towne students will not be calculated in the Haultain population. In essence, there will be two "schools" in Haultain next year; one for local students, and one for McKenzie Towne children.

What that means is Haultain will hire teachers for roughly 120 students, thereby surplussing a number of current staff due to declining numbers. Many of those teachers will have the option of applying to teach at McKenzie Towne. They will be interviewed by the new principal and if they are successful, they will begin the year in the Haultain building for the McKenzie Towne principal and school. When the school is completed, those teachers (and any others hired by the McKenzie Towne principal) will move with the students to the new building. Hiring will be done according to skill set, however only teachers with a minimum of two years continuous contract with the Board AND two years service at their current school will be considered for application (as per union and Board guidelines). The two staffs will work side by side in the Haultain building.

I agree that there will be some challenges to this move and I also agree that this will work out for the best. To this end I also believe that the CBE, School Council, and the Haultain administration will continue to be as transparent in this process as possible. We appreciate making any concerns public so that we might work to correct any misunderstandings.

Trevor Barkley, Principal,
Haultain Memorial School