The Board of Education for School District 27 says that one of the challenges that caused some difficulty for them in starting the school year off right was the lack of communication surrounding the lifting of orders and alerts within the Cariboo Regional District.
Chair Tanya Guenther says it was very difficult because parents and community members would see alerts being lifted and assume that their school would open the next day.
“There were some challenges and confusion caused by some of the statements released by the CRD in their updates which alluded to schools being able to open in certain areas. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to actually implement those plans sometimes on short notice to ensure that bus routes could be reestablished, that all teaching staff could be available to be in school, and those things take time. So, unfortunately, there were some mixed communications and concerns by parents that they heard from the CRD that their school would be able to open but we weren’t able to actually implement that for another day or two.”
Trustee for Zone 1 Linda Martens shared her concerns with Guenther and said that although the alert was lifted for Forest Grove before the start of the school year, the same could not be said for Horse Lake and that there was a lot of misinformation.
The Board of Education according to Guenther found out the same time as the public when an alert or order had been lifted.
“I think it’s a learning experience for all of us…I think communication wise we could strengthen that and perhaps put some processes in place to ensure that we can be working together in a coordinated effort.”
Board members unanimously agreed during a Board of Education meeting Tuesday to write a letter highlighting their concerns to the Cariboo Regional District.
Chair for the Cariboo Regional District Al Richmond was unavailable for comment.