Dear Editor:
Regarding your Jan. 13 story, Balmoral Residents Hijack Meeting:
Parents and neighbours of Balmoral school had every right to "hijack" the information meeting at the school Jan. 10. They have a democratic right to question where their children will be schooled and what type of facility is going into their neighbourhood. The school board has been playing a shell game with Balmoral for several years now.
It is obvious that despite their claim of low enrolment at Balmoral when they originally planned to close the school, they were already planning to move KLASS (Keith Lynn Alternate Secondary School) and Lucas Centre in there. For one thing, KLASS is right in the path of a freeway on-ramp planned for that area.
But parents, staff and other residents fought hard to keep Balmoral junior secondary open. It was a unique school with high academic standards. At a time when most school districts are moving to middle schools, a much healthier atmosphere for younger secondary students, the North Vancouver school district has eradicated all of them.
For a time, everybody thought they had won the battle to keep the school open. It was pointed out that there were many ways to build the school population and eventually, the school board appeared to acquiesce. The staff worked extremely hard for two years to enable Balmoral to qualify as an MYP (Middle Years Program - International Baccalaureate) school.
Then the other shoe dropped. Balmoral was to become the dumping ground for surplus students from Carson Graham while Carson was being rebuilt. Suddenly, Balmoral's population more than doubled and, despite the board's insistence that the school is not at capacity, it is operating with nine portables, counting the original music portable.
Why shouldn't the meeting be hijacked? The school was certainly hijacked.
Heather Lapierre, North Vancouver
