The board of Prairie Land Regional School Division is feeling good after a meeting with Minister of Education Jeff Johnson last week in Hanna.
On the list of topics was the imminent closure of Hanna Primary School.
The PLRD board highlighted the difficulty of closing Hanna Primary in the timeline set out by Minister Johnson, which was to close the school by the end of the current school year.
Under normal circumstances, a school division must close the school in question in the same academic year as the motion to close is passed. However, the PLRD board requested an extension so they may adequately modernize J.C. Charyk School, which will be transformed into a K-12 school.
Minister Johnson agreed the extension would be appropriate and indicated the J.C. Charyk modernization is a high priority capital project slated for provincial funding in the near future. However, the price of crude bitumen has caused provincial revenues to fall considerably and other priorities may delay the modernization project.
In a statement on the PLRD website, the board has pledged to continue to operate Hanna Primary until the completion of the J.C. Charyk modernization project.
In addition, the PLRD board highlighted the need for a reinstatement of rural stabilization funding for remote rural school boards and removal of the transportation funding cap, currently set at one student per 3 square kilometres. PLRD currently has one student per 6.5 square kilometres, which is beyond the cap.
Lastly, the board expressed a vision, to which Johnson agreed, for rural education needs to include programs relevant for rural students, such as learning opportunities based on the economic and employment priorities of rural communities. Also, such a vision would help students realize their career goals.
The meeting was described as being positive. Now that Johnson has given his blessing for an extension of the Hanna Primary closure, the school will continue to operate for the foreseeable future.