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Funding protection won’t save school

Funding protection granted by the province to schools for 2011-2012 will not be the saviour for Oliver’s Tuc-el-Nuit elementary.

Funding protection granted by the province to schools for 2011-2012 will not be the saviour for Oliver’s Tuc-el-Nuit elementary.

“Overall funding is unchanged. There is no increase in funding, but it does protect the funding we received last year,” said School District 53 secretary-treasurer Lynda Minnabarriet. “The ministry has been saying for the past few years that funding protection is going to be removed or phased out and we don’t actually find out until the funding announcements. We still don’t know for 2012-2013 what they will do.”

Parents who have rallied together under the group name Save Oliver Schools were hoping with the province’s announcement the school district option from the capital plan to close Tuc-el-Nuit would be disbanded.

The capital plan outlined that due to the funding protection cutbacks the school district could face a potential deficit of $875,843 and closing Tuc-el-Nuit was a way to save some money.

Public consultation meetings on the potential closure are scheduled for April 27 at 7 p.m. at the school board office in Oliver, staff and teachers will then be consulted and a second public meeting on May 4 at Tuc-el-Nuit will occur at 7 p.m.

The school board will come to a final decision on whether or not to close Tuc-el-Nuit and amalgamate with Oliver Elementary School at the May 25 school board meeting.