Low enrollment numbers, high costs and staffing dilemmas are causing members of the Wolf Creek Public Schools (WCPS) board of trustees to question the validity of the division’s home schooling program.
Each year the program runs at a deficit between $65,000 and $70,000, says superintendent Larry Jacobs.
The program has approximately 23 students enrolled. “They’re not generating that much money for us,” said Jacobs.
Jacobs told the trustees the program has had more than 100 students in the past but numbers have decreased because the program was to encourage the students to return to traditional schooling within the division.
When trustee Lorrie Jess home-schooled her children, she chose not to go with the WCPS program because of what she calls the pressure put on students to return to traditional school. For her that was a “turn off.”
Trustee Pan Hansen says the program needs to be marketed better, as many parents in her ward—Bentley and Eckville—didn’t know of the program’s existence. However, she also feels cancelling the program is not out of the question. “If you have to provide that (home schooling), you have to either get a whole bunch more people on board or scratch it, in my opinion.”
Because it is referred to as a ‘school’, Jacobs informed trustees that in order to terminate the program, they would have to go through the formal school closure procedure.
“I don’t like the idea of not offering that program to the community, whether or not the community buys into it,” said trustee Bob Huff.
He feels as the inclusive education movement gains momentum across the province, this is an option the division needs to offer in order to be in accordance. “That falls into inclusive education. Education any place, any pace, any time.”
Trustee Barb Walker feels the money going toward the program could be better spent in other areas of the division where more students would be impacted by the funds.
“I don’t like us losing money on some of these programs, but by the same token I think to me, when I waive the fact that we’ve had good enrollment in past years, and it’s $65,000 we’re losing, I don’t like that. But I think as a public school system, we have an obligation to offer that,” said Huff.
“If the program was paying for itself, then that’s something that we could offer, but I personally feel that that’s not something we should be spending money — that we don’t have — on,” countered Walker.
The board was not prepared to make a decision on the matter until more information is gathered on the program and Jacobs presents it to them by September.