By David F. Rooney
Revelstoke is getting close to the point where it can apply for its first family of Syrian refugees, Rana Nelson, chairwoman of the Revelstoke for Refugees Committee told SD 19’s Board of Trustees during their monthly meeting.
Speaking at their Wednesday, February 3, meeting, she told the trustees that they have raised more than $32,000. Federal guidelines suggest a family can be privately sponsored for $30,000 but the committee believes that is not enough given the high cost of living here. The committee has set its sights on $60,000 in cash and kind to support a local refugee family and hopes it can raise enough to bring a second family here, she said.
The board is very interested in this project because a refugee family will almost certainly have children who will attend local schools.
You can watch Rana’s presentation to the board in the first minutes of the board’s meeting, as recorded in The Revelstoke Current’s video below.
In other news from the meeting the board approved a Revelstoke Secondary School student band trip to Cuba, scheduled for May. The student musicians will bring their instruments and perform even as they experience Cuba’s renowned culture and music. The students will be accompanied by four adult chaperones — Jim Redding, Michael Haworth, Clara Maltby and Lucie Robidoux — and will be gone for eight days starting on April 29.
The board approved a proposal to send a letter to both the BCTF and the Ministry of Education encouraging them to continue working collaboratively on curriculum implementation. You can follow that on the video at about the 11:30 mark.
Trustees also received school growth plans for Arrow Heights Elementary and RSS. You can watch Superintendent Mike Hooker’s discussion of that beginning at the 25:41 mark on the video. A printed copy of the plans is included in the meeting’s agenda.
Hooker also presented an update on the surplus schools situation, which you can watch beginning at the 40:36 point. Hooker said that if the Big Eddy property owners approved the waterworks renewal the district would immediately make a subdivision application for the okld Big Eddy School site. The waterworks project was approved by 65% of the property owners. The Mountain View site needs to be rezoned and a date will soon be set for a public information meeting to preent plans for redevelopment of the Mount Begbie School site. Please click here to find a print copy of the Surplus Schools Update in the agenda.
You can also click here to read the agenda from the meeting.
The board’s next meeting is on Wednesday, February 24, at 5 pm at the board room at the district office beside RSS.
