An Email Exchange with School Board Trustees

Subject: Meet about Cedar Elementary From: stephanie@savecedarschools.org Date: Thu, March 13, !1" 11:3# pm To: $%im &o'land$ ()im.ho'land@sd*+.bc.ca, $Sharon -elch$ (s'elch@sd*+.bc.ca, $.anc/ 0url/$ (nanc/.curle/@sd*+.bc.ca, &ello 1 'ould li)e to meet 'ith /ou about 0edar 2lementar/. 1 am so saddened b/ 'hat transpired tonight at the meeting. There 'as a lot o3 in3ormation that 'as not given tonight at the meeting and the trustees 'ho are supposed to be our reps and our people and the people that bring the concerns o3 the committee bac) to the table did not do so tonight despite assurances that there 'ould be a good and in depth discussion on it. The onl/ things that 'ere tal)ed about 'ere the good things...There are a number o3 issues 'ith the school construction that have been discussed at the school construction committee level that 'ere not discussed tonight. 1t 'as heartbrea)ing and sho'ed that there is a ver/ d/s3unctional s/stem at pla/ here. 4ne e5ample 'as 'hen 1 as)ed the 6uestion about outdoor covered pla/ areas. 1t 'as )ic)ed bac) to the school construction committee to tal) about. The school construction committee did tal) about it, 'e did sa/ it 'as a priorit/. -e haven7t met 3or T&822 months and then get an ominous summons to a meeting toda/ 3rom 9". :t this meeting 'e 'ere told that all the plans and priorities 'e had discussed had been shelved and that there 'as a ne' plan and a ne' set o3 plans 3or the school. So, 'hen the notion o3 covered space got )ic)ed bac) to the school construction committee tonight, it actuall/ doesn7t 'or) because 'e did discuss it and 'e did prioriti;e it and 'e got told sorr/ it 'on7t 'or) because 'e are doing this 'ith :F< mone/, not as a major capital project. The presentation tonight 'as ver/ much a sunshine and rainbo's presentation. The negatives o3 0edar 2lementar/ 'ere not discussed and it needs to be discussed some'here. -e tried to tal) about it in the committee meeting toda/ and 'ere told 'e can7t tal) about it there because the committee7s job is to build the best school 'e can. -e 'ere told that the place 3or discussion 'as the business committee...that these things 'ould be brought up. The/ 'eren7t. The bottom line is that 'hen 0edar elementar/ 'as passed it 'as 3our "=> students. 1 might not li)e that idea, but 1 could get behind it. .o' it is 3or ==...?es, ==. That is the number that 'as discussed toda/ @:S2D 4. @:88:<:8 projections and it goes do'n over the /ears not up. :.D that number does not ta)e into account the number o3 students 'ho 'ill leave 0edar 2lementar/ a3ter grade * because the/ 'ant to go to ASS and 'ill register in grade = in order to get a spot. So, the bottom line is, that even i3 1 didn7t agree 'ith a school o3 "=>, 1 could get behind putting in 0edar Secondar/ because it ma)es sense. .o' 'e are tal)ing about == students. Trustee @rennan stated that the board has discussed the notion o3 housing these students at -oodban) and has moved on. &o'ever, the discussion happened 'hen /ou thought that there 'ould "=> students

at 0edar 2lementar/. .o' there 'ill be == Bat M4STC...So, /ou are 'illing to spend &:AF the :F< 3or the ne5t t'o /ears to renovate a high school into an elementar/ school that 'ill onl/ be hal3 renovated and 'ill house == students...and 3or D million buc)s the )ids 'on7t have 3ields to pla/ on...3or D million it 'ill onl/ be a hal3 renovated high school 3illed 'ith elementar/ students. There are other solutions...-h/ 'on7t /ou come bac) to the communit/ and sa/ $&e/, 'hen 'e passed the plan 'e thought 5 'ould happen...turns out ; is happening, 'e need to consolidate /our elementar/ schools, let7s 3igure out the best 'a/ to do it.$.....1 mean /ou do reali;e that /ou could put an addition onto -oodban) 3or D1 million and then the )ids 'ould have a great outdoor pla/ area and it 'ould cost hal3 the mone/ that it is going to cost to renovate 00SSE ?ou do )no' that right, /ou )no' that...please tell me /ou )no' thatE 13 -oodban) 'as 3alling do'n...this 'hole 00SS to 02 thing might ma)e a bit o3 sense, but it has a better 3acilit/ rating that an/ o3 the Aad/smith schools...1 mean imagine i3 /ou renovated -oodban) 3or a million dollars and saved that ne5t 1 million so /ou could put it into Aad/smith. 1 'ould li)e to meet 'ith /ou to discuss these options. Than)s. Stephanie

The reply from Kim Howland, Sharon Welsh & Nancy Curley? Silence. Not one email reply. (So Stephanie sent another email to Nancy Curley, the Cedar zone representative on the School Board)

Subject: Cedar Elementary From: stephanie@savecedarschools.org Date: Sat, March 15, 2014 3:54 pm To: "Nancy Curly" <nancy.curley@sd68.bc.ca> Cc: savecedarschools@gmail.com, dougswhite@gmail.com, douglas.routley.mla@leg.bc.ca, leonard.krog.mla@leg.bc.ca, mmarcotte@cvrd.bc.ca, maureen_young@shaw.ca, educ.minister@gov.bc.ca, peter.fassbender.mla@leg.bc.ca, ndta@shaw.ca, dpac68@gmail.com, cupe606@shaw.ca, premier@gov.bc.ca, letters@nanaimodailynews.com, onair@917coastfm.com, arts@cowichannewsleader.com, editor@ladysmithchronicle.com, reporter@nanaimobulletin.com, MaMacDonald@nanaimodailynews.com, rbarron@nanaimodailynews.com, pwolf@nanaimodailynews.com, editor@nanaimobulletin.com, heastmure@917coastfm.com, news@897sunfm.com, reporter@pqbnews.com, tabtips@theprovince.com, pchapman@theprovince.com, tips@globaltvbc.com, editor@ladysmithchronicle.com, andrew.garland@bellmedia.ca, tips@cheknews.ca, cbcnewsvancouver@cbc.ca, localnews@timescolonist.com

&ello .anc/: 1 still have not had a response 3rom /ou to m/ email sent on Thursda/ March 13. :s the area trustee 3or 0edar /ou are responsible 3or representing the concerns o3 the parents and students o3 this area to the board o3 education. 1 'ould li)e to meet 'ith /ou to e5press our concerns regarding 0edar 2lementar/. 0urrentl/, these concerns are the 3ollo'ing: 1. The current enrollment projections 3or 0edar 2lementar/ are == students. The school construction committee agreed that even this number is optimistic and the number is probabl/ going to be closer to >9 >!. . The plans that 'ere presented to the budget committee on Thursda/ March 13 'ere not the plans that 'ere agreed on b/ the school construction committee. 3. 1 'ould li)e to discuss concerns over 'hat has transpired at the school construction committee. ". The current plans 3or 0edar 2lementar/ create numerous ph/sical sa3et/ ha;ards that must be addressed. >. The detrimental economic and educational decision o3 continuing 'ith the 0edar Secondar/ renovation 'hen there are other viable options available that are more educationall/ and economicall/ sound ideas. *. The presentation to the business committee consistentl/ re3erred to ma)ing comparison to other schools that are a similar si;e across the district as comparisons 'hen determining 'hether something is considered an enhancement. &o'ever, 'hat the/ should have been doing 'as compare 0edar 2lementar/ to -oodban) or .01 in order to determine 'hether something is an enhancement. For instance, both .01 and -oodban) have pla/ 3ields that are larger than most schools their si;e. There are important enhancements to people 'ho live in a rural communit/. -oodban) has a librar/ that is considered larger than it needs to be 3or a school its si;e according to ministr/ standards. -oodban) actuall/ has covered pla/ area, 'hich the ne' school 'ill not. -hen determining i3 something is an enhancement it 'ould also seem appropriate to as) the communit/ /ou are building 3or 'hat the/ 'ould consider to be an enhancement. =. 1 'ould li)e to discuss the stated enhancements to the 3acilit/ in order to better understand ho' the board possibl/ could thin) that some o3 these stated enhancements could possibl/ be $enhancements$... &ere is a list o3 the stated 2nhancements and the 6uestions the communit/ has about these enhancements: Large library: 1 assume then that the board is going to approve e5tra 3unding 3or the students to use the large librar/. 8ight no', bet'een the t'o schools that 'ill be consolidated to ma)e 0edar 2lementar/ there are onl/ t'o librar/ da/s. There reall/ isn7t an/thing to brag about here unless the students are

going to also receive increased time in the librar/. Furthermore, -oodban) has a librar/ that is considered large. Two gyms oodsho!: This room 'ill be loc)ed and not available to the students. There3ore it is misleading to call it an $enhancement$. Furthermore the 3act that the e6uipment in this room 'ill not be trans3erred to @arsb/ 'hose 'oodshop the district has admitted is $in3erior$ to 0edar7s sho's that not onl/ is this not an $enhancement$ to the elementar/ students, but the secondar/ students are not going to receive enhanced programs at @arsb/ either. Art room: 0urrentl/ there is little to no ministr/ 3unding 3or art education at the elementar/ level. :s a trustee, 1 am sure /ou are a'are o3 ho' teachers o3ten scrape together art supplies 3rom their o'n homes in order to o33er the students art education. :t -oodban) and .01 our F:07s 3und raise in order to provide the teachers 'ith proper art supplies. &o'ever, since 0edar 2lementar/ 'ill not include an/ usable pla/ 3ields the F:0 'ill have to redirect their 3und raising in order to raise mone/ 3or 3ield remediation....-hich b/ the 'a/ 'e have at -oodban) and .01...unusable pla/ 3ields that is. Music room: -e have a music room at -oodban), but 3or some reason at -oodban) it is considered $e5cess space$ and it7s e5istence is one o3 the reasons -oodban) is being closed. "rama stage Ser#ery$storage su!!ort Multi!ur!ose room: -e have a multipurpose room at -oodban), that actuall/ has 'alls. The multipurpose room at 0edar 2lementar/ is a glori3ied school lobb/. Large administration area: 1 assume that /ou are going to sta33 us 'ith more administration 3or this $larger$ administration area. @ecause at this point it seems to me that 'e are actuall/ loosing administration Bgoing 3rom principals to oneC So since 'e are being 3orced to give up access to /ear round outdoor pla/ 3ields and access to &emer Far) and a school 3orest in order to have a $larger administration area$ /ou are going to actuall/ ma)e said area use3ul. Too bad noon on the board as)ed the communit/ o3 0edar 'hat it is that the/ consider to be an enhancement. 1n 3act, 1 3eel prett/ strongl/ that district 'ide, i3 /ou as)ed an/ parent o3 an elementar/ student, $-hich o3 the 3ollo'ing do /ou consider to be an $enhancement$ access to a large pla/3ield and 3orest on school propert/ or a big o33ice space 3or administration that 'ill be hal3 empt/G /ou 'ould consistentl/ get the same ans'er in 3avor o3 the 3ields. Large counselling area: The same statement as above also applies here.

1t is also important to discuss all the things that 0edar students 'ill be losing. There 'ill be no access to /ear round outdoor pla/ing 3ields at 0edar 2lementar/. -e 'ill no longer have access

to our school 3orest or to &emer Far), 'hich allo's 3or the enhanced programming o3 4utdoor %indergarten. T'o o3 the classrooms 'ill have home economics e6uipment in them. Aoc)ers are being le3t in the building creating a terrible sa3et/ ha;ard. There 'ill be no outdoor covered pla/ areas. There 'ill be no direct classroom access to the outside, so the school 'ill have a lo'er earth6ua)e sa3et/ rating. The students 'ill not be able to see out o3 most o3 the 'indo's because the/ are not built 3or primar/ aged children. Students are losing access to a sa3e building due to the oversi;ed nature o3 0edar Secondar/, 'hich creates great sa3et/ concerns because outsiders can easil/ hide in the school. There 'ill be no more dedicated room 3or be3ore and a3ter school care, 'hich -oodban) currentl/ has. The bathroom 3i5tures are not being altered. So as it stands, the business committee has approved to put normal annual projects on hold in order to 3ocus spending on the construction o3 0edar 2lementar/. This is going to result in spending D million to hal3 renovate a school that 'ill be hal3 empt/ and have no usable outdoor pla/ 3ields 'hen there is a 3acilit/ that 'ill have a higher earth 6ua)e sa3et/ rating and a better 3acilities condition inde5 rating than 1+ o3 the districtHs # elementar/ schools sitting less than 3 )m a'a/. :nd because annual capital projects are being put on hold, man/ o3 those elementar/ school 3acilities 'ill have poorer 3acilit/ ratings at the end o3 the construction project...'hich is actuall/ a little sill/ 'hen /ou reali;e this is being done in the name o3 the $enhanced 3acilities$ plan. :nd to 3urther point out the insane nature o3 this plan.../ou have schools that have been voted to be over capacit/ b/ this plan that are in great need o3 alterations as a result, but the district can7t a33ord to do those renovations because the/ are putting so much mone/ into the 0edar 2lementar/ renovation...'hich 'ill, just a reminder end up being a hal3 empt/ hal3 renovated high school housing elementar/ aged students 'ith no access to outdoor pla/3ields.

The school construction committee has not met 3or three months. 1n that three months it 'as determined that in order to renovate the school into the t/pe o3 school that the school construction committee considered an appropriate building 3or elementar/ students, including the 3ield remediation, 'ould cost close to D> million. The district sta33 have )no'n this 3or months. The/ )ept the in3ormation to themselves, despite being 6uestioned b/ man/ members o3 the committee about a meeting date. The district sta33 'aited until this 'ee) to summons the committee to a hastil/ called school construction committee meeting 'ith no advanced agenda, held t'o hours be3ore the business committee meeting to present the overhauled plans. -hen our strong objection 'as made and a desire to discuss alternative options since the enrollment number 'as no' an agreed upon optimistic == students 'e 'ere told that 'e cannot discuss these issues at the school construction committee because the @oard has given the sta33 a mandate and that is all the/ can 'or) on. -e 'ere told b/ Trustee Saunders to come to the business committee meeting 'here these things could be discussed. 1 attended the business committee meeting and to m/ absolute horror not one o3 the communit/ concerns 'as addressed b/ the t'o trustees 'ho are sitting on the committee. There 'as a brie3 discussion that the 3ields are unusable and a hal39hearted motion 3rom the board to loo) into ta)ing mone/ 3rom the !1*I !1= 3acilities grant to remediate 4.2 small 3ield. This conversation too) as long as the conversation over the ST84.< objection b/ Trustee @ard that

there 'ere no gender neutral 'ashrooms in a major renovations and that $the S4<1 committee 'ould have strong problems 'ith that$....at least Mr. @ard 'as representing one segment o3 the sd*+ population. -hen 1 'as 3inall/ able to as) 6uestions at the end o3 the meeting during 6uestion period, 1 brought up the objections in the 3orm o3 6uestions and 'as told that the business committee meeting 'asn7t the place to tal) about the objections that the/ should be discussed at the school construction committee and the concerns got )ic)ed bac) to the school construction committee 3or discussion. .anc/, /ou are the area rep 3or 0edar, it is /our job to sit on the school construction committee. ?ou have chosen not to and have as)ed Terr/ A/nn Saunders to sit 3or /ou. She did. &o'ever, the communit/Hs interests are not being represented b/ the current trustees and it is /our job to ensure that our interests are represented. 4n this note o3 representation, and combined 'ith the above in3ormation 1 'ould li)e to invite /ou to meet 'ith me in 0edar. 1 'ould li)e to tour -oodban) Frimar/ School 'ith /ou then tour 0edar Secondar/ School. Flease bring /our rubber boots because a tour o3 the pla/ing 3ields 'ill also be involved. 1 'ould also li)e to discuss alternative options 3or /ou that are more educationall/ and economicall/ viable options that the onl/ option the board seems to be considering at this point. :s 1 stated on Thursda/ in m/ email .anc/, 'hen the board voted on this in June it 'as because /ou thought that "=> students 'ould be going to 0edar 2lementar/, thus necessitating the/ be housed in 0edar Secondar/. .o' this isn7t the case. .o' it is time 3or the board to consider not onl/ 4T&28 options, but @2TT28 options. 4ptions that are better not onl/ 3or the 0edar 0ommunit/ but 3or the district as a 'hole. 1 loo) 3or'ard to our meeting. 1 am not a'a/ during spring brea) i3 /ou 'ant to meet over the brea). 1 can also arrange 3or )e/s to the mentioned schools so 'e can tour the insides o3 them.

Stephanie

The reply from Nancy Curley? Continued Silence. (So Stephanie sent a third email to Nancy Curley, the Cedar zone representative on the School Board)

From: stephanie@savecedarschools.org Kstephanie@savecedarschools.orgL Sent: Sunda/, March 3, !1" 11: + :M To: .anc/ 0urle/ Subject: 25planation 3or the silence

&ello .anc/: :s a parent rep on the School 0onstruction committee 3or 0edar 2lementar/ 1 e5pected some )ind o3 a response to m/ three emails to /ou about the situation 'ith the committee. :t least an e5planation as to 'h/ /ou have not respondedE Ferhaps /ou are 'or)ing on 3inding out more in3ormation about the issueE Ferhaps /ou have 3ro;en me out because 1 provided an a33idavit 3or the SF. la'suitE 1 am not sure 'here on the spectrum o3 these reasons /our reasons 3or not repl/ing to me sit, but 1 at least deserve an e5planation 3or the silence and lac) o3 response 3rom /ou. Than)s Stephanie

Finally, a reply.
Subject: RE: Explanation for the silence From: "Nancy Curley" <Nancy.Curley@sd68.bc.ca> Date: Mon, March 24, 2014 11:26 am To: "stephanie@savecedarschools.org" <stephanie@savecedarschools.org> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for your emails and information - I appreciate all information forwarded by the Community and take it into consideration when making decisions. Nancy Curley SD 68 School Trustee Not willing to meet. Not willing to discuss. Not willing to provide answers. Not willing to defend. Barely manages a most inadequate response. These are people we chose to represent our interests on the School Board? Shameful.