Dear Editor:
After reading last week’s Richard Froese opinion column, I am saddened that he felt the need to attack a whole community because of our small school and the budget cuts facing Alberta Education. There are several factual errors in the column that I think need pointed out:
1. Byemoor School will not have three junior high students. In fact, there are six. Please inform (Patty) Dittrick as she is quoted twice in this week’s paper with this incorrect statistic.
2. We don’t have orchards in Byemoor. We grow beef cattle and grains and oilseeds, which equates to food on your table, Mr. Froese.
3. Although this seems very cut and dried from a monetary standpoint, it’s not, at all; Small schools also receive funding through something called “small schools through necessity.”
Therefore, our budget is not based solely on number of students. There are other factors as well, something Froese neglected to mention.
4. I agree that the trustees should look at the broader picture and do what’s right for the entire division, not just their own area. Take note Stettler trustees — it’s not just all about you. On the fl ip side, if we don’t protect what is ours, the schoolyard bully will try and take it away.
If it is such a good idea to consolidate the schools, sure, let’s do it … let’s send all the primary school kids from Stettler to Byemoor — a mere three hours on a bus a day for a six-year-old shouldn’t be that big of deal, right Mr. Froese?
That’s what you are asking of the kids from Byemoor to do if you want our school closed to save a few bucks-but the shoe on the other foot doesn’t fit so well does it? I rode that three-hour jaunt on a bus to Stettler every day for high school — I don’t wish that on anyone younger.
Maureen Mappin-Smith
Byemoor