Michael Klein lost the battle to keep his own community’s school open, but that hasn’t kept him from helping others fight the war.
Three years after the Wood Mountain, Sask. school closed, Klein says students, especially the younger ones, are suffering.
He was surprised to find out there have been no studies on what happens to children who are forced to go to other schools.
“It appears school boards are very willing to close schools but are unwilling to find out the effects on the students,” he said.
Read Also
Stock dogs show off herding skills at Ag in Motion
Stock dogs draw a crowd at Ag in Motion. Border collies and other herding breeds are well known for the work they do on the farm.
“In Wood Mountain, unofficially we’ve seen standardized test scores dropping. We’ve seen a dramatic increase in student illness, a dramatic increase in absenteeism, a dramatic increase in the cost to parents and a decrease in student opportunities.”
Klein is so concerned he has drafted a survey and will be asking people in a couple of other communities that have lost their schools to fill them out. He expects results in the fall.
“Unofficially I’ve kind of become the consultant,” for communities faced with closures, he said.
Schools closed
He used to be involved with the Saskatchewan Association of Communities and Schools Co-op, a group which no longer exists mostly because the players were constantly changing as schools closed.
Sixteen schools were to be closed in Saskatchewan this year, which he says is about average for the last five years. About 270 schools have been closed in the last 20 years, due to declining enrolment and financial reasons.
Ironically, Klein said, if Wood Mountain school was still open it would generate a surplus of between $200,000 and $300,000 each year because of reassessment.
In many communities the updated property values implemented this year mean communities are now paying for their schools, he said.
“Yet there is no legitimate consideration being put forth by the boards to the parents’ concern,” he said. “School boards know they don’t have to listen to anybody.”
According to an April poll of 1,000 people released by the province last week, 49 percent approved of the government’s management of elementary and high school education.
When asked to rate the quality of elementary education, 56 percent rated it good or excellent. Forty-eight percent said high school education is good or excellent.
“I think the reasoning for that low approval rating … is because parents aren’t being listened to,” Klein said. “This is the whole area of contention.”
