THE newly consolidated alternative school for North Vancouver school district will be housed in Balmoral, the board of education voted Tuesday.
The site, currently used for grades 8 to 10 of Carson Graham while that school undergoes renovation, was chosen over the Lucas Centre site and the current Keith Lynn school site, but at this point the district doesn't know how it will pay for renovations.
As part of an amendment brought by trustee Barry Forward, the superintendent will report back to the board on the estimated costs of renovating the school, which Forward estimated at upwards of $2.5 to $3 million.
"Balmoral, because it's an existing school - we've got Carson students there now - it's not as expensive as going to Lucas Centre," said Forward, adding the site has easy highway and transit access.
Staff suggested three options to pay for the building changes: using the entire annual facilities grant, which is usually targeted towards school repairs; using capital reserves, which requires ministry approval; or borrowing against the revenues from future land sales, according to trustee Susan Skinner, who cast the lone dissenting vote.
None of those options appealed strongly to Skinner - the renovations would likely eat up the entire annual repair budget, which would leave the district high and dry in case of emergency repairs, she said, and the district has already committed to raise $13 million for other projects through the sale of lands, she added.
The district plans to partner with other organizations, including arts groups, community groups and service organizations, who might want to use the space, and already has plans with Vancouver Coastal Health.
"They've helped with our Third Step program and other alternate programs, so we've partnered with them before and they were really
excited about what we're doing," said Skinner of Vancouver Coastal Health.
Still, Skinner said that should have been done earlier - and needs to start as soon as possible, especially if the district hopes to access new money from the province or other organizations to help cover the cost of the move. There had also been too little consultation with neighbours, she said, as community uses could also be integrated.
"Unfortunately we haven't done the full consultation, but there's still time to do that with the new board," she said.
The proposal to amalgamate the district's alternate programs, which include Keith Lynn alternate secondary, the Youth Learning Centre, the Therapeutic Day program and the Key program, into a single school was suggested in 2009 and 2010 consultations with the hope of saving money in administering the scattered schools. A fifth alternate program, Windsor House, chose instead to join the Gulf Islands school district in the spring.
The school district plans to open the new centre next fall, and will include grades 9-12 students as well as adult basic education classes.
Skinner said the move should come with some benefits, including the potential of reducing stigma for students who attend alternative school and making the decision to go there more of an attractive choice for students with other learning styles. The district is also working on a new transition plan for students who go from regular school to alternate schools and vice versa.
The new Choices program was also put in place at Sutherland secondary this year, a pilot before expanding to other schools, offering enhanced support without leaving the regular school system.
While the location was finalized at a public board meeting, staff with the district refused comment on the story for at least a week.
As for what will happen in the other soon-to-be vacated school buildings, including the Lucas Centre, that hasn't been decided, said Forward.
"No one likes empty facilities, it's just not what we want and not what the community wants," he said. "We need to work with the community to find the best use for these (unused) properties, and we have 12 of them."
