Silver Creek elementary in the North Okanagan-Shuswap School District will continue to serve the community of Silver Creek with a $213,353 investment under the Rural Education Enhancement Fund (REEF), Shuswap MLA Greg Kyllo announced on behalf of Education Minister Mike Bernier.
Silver Creek Elementary had been considered for closure due to low enrolment and financial pressures from Ministry of Education budgets on School District #83.
Under the program, a total of 11 rural schools will receive a portion of this year’s $3.4-million investment to ensure they can continue to serve their local students and community. Silver Creek Elementary is one of six schools receiving funding for the first time this year. The remaining five schools are receiving funding for the second year under REEF.
“Silver Creek elementary is a small, family-oriented school that carefully looks after the needs of local children,” says Shuswap MLA Greg Kyllo. “We are able to ensure that the school will continue because of a rural education strategy that takes into consideration the social and economic contributions that schools like Silver Creek make in small communities.”
The amount of funding each district is eligible to receive reflects the amount of money that would be saved if the school was closed. Eligibility includes:
• The school must be located in a rural community or sub-community outside Greater Victoria, the Lower Mainland and Kelowna areas with a population of less than 15,000;
• The school must be the only one in the community;
• Closing the school would have a negative effect on students and/or the community; and,
• Closures where facility conditions or extreme enrolment decline are not included.
This investment builds on government’s ongoing work to develop a provincial rural education strategy that looks at public school funding, the condition of schools, and the role education plays in rural communities.