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Two North Okanagan-Shuswap school district properties up for sale

VERNON - The North Okanagan-Shuswap School District is putting two of its properties up for sale. The first is the former board office in Salmon Arm, which will be listed for $800,000, and the other is the old South Canoe School, on the market for $500,000. Board of Education chair Bobbi Johnson says Colliers International...

Vernon learning centre on the hunt for a new home after being told to vacate

VERNON - The Vernon School District is on the hunt for a new landlord after the decision to demolish the city-owned building the district has been leasing. School officials recently learned they won’t be able to lease the city-owned building on 29th Street anymore because it’s getting demolished. The city has asked the district to...

Vernon School District asked to vacate city-owned building

VERNON - The Vernon School District has been asked to vacate a city-owned building currently home to the Open Door Education Centre. According to a memo from the superintendent’s office, the 29 Street building owned by the city and leased by the district is getting demolished next summer. The district has been asked to vacate...

Do you know the difference between color and colour? What about your kids?

VERNON - Raise your hand if you pronounce the last letter of the alphabet ‘zed’ instead of ‘zee.’ What about colour versus color — do you spell it the first way or the second? Do you refer to the road less travelled, with two l’s or the road less traveled with one? Do you recognize...

Vernon MLA lambasted over comments about school cuts

VERNON - Vernon’s MLA is standing by comments he made about cuts to school bus routes after getting slammed by the NDP’s education critic this week. A number of bus routes were cut in the Vernon School District this year, leading parents to speak out in protest. The decision was the result of funding cuts from...

HELSTON: Angry about school superintendents getting raises? You’re missing the point

Many reacted with shock when news broke that superintendents in three Okanagan school districts were given raises last year, but I think we might be missing the bigger picture. What I find more shocking than a superintendent with 30 years of education experience receiving a pay raise — the first for that position since 2006...

Shuswap Pro-Life Society’s request to show anti-abortion display on school property refused

SALMON ARM - The North Okanagan-Shuswap school board has turned down an anti-abortion group’s request to use school property for a pro-life display. The Shuswap Pro-Life Society asked to use school district property near Centenoka Park Mall for a one-day display of 10,000 little pink and blue flags, each representing 10 babies lost to abortion...

Vernon School District will use reserves to bridge budget shortfall

VERNON - The Vernon School District will dip into its reserves to cover next year's budget shortfall, but it's already worried about what to do the year after that. Once again, School District 22 is facing a budget deficit, this time in the amount of $950,000 due to cost pressures and a $400,000 cut in...

Vernon School District seeks feedback on busing changes

VERNON - The Vernon School District is reaching out to parents for input on contentious bussing changes implemented this year. In a recent survey, parents were asked for feedback on School District 22’s transportation policy, which now enforces a 2.4 km walk limit at all its schools. About 300 students living within the walk limit...

Districts planning for back to school

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - As teachers make their decision today whether to ratify a contract agreement with the province, school boards are busy making plans in the hopes that students will be back in school next week. Several districts have already reached out to parents to let them know the plan for next week and most are...

Teacher strike throws off extra-curricular programs in the North Okanagan

VERNON - The B.C. teacher strike has thrown off many school sports and other non-curricular programs, though some activities remain on course thanks to parents and outside maintenance workers. Superintendent of the Vernon School District Joe Rogers says some fields aren’t being maintained due to picket lines, while others run in conjunction with Greater Vernon...

HELSTON: Why Vernon teachers weren’t picketing outside schools this week

Earlier this week, I went out to cover strike action on the local front. The problem was, I couldn’t find any teachers. There was little sign of them in the city; no sound of car horns being honked in support, no thumbs being wagged in the air, no protest signs, no chanting, no teachers. In...

Vernon school board to hear community concerns over controversial pellet plant

VERNON - Parents will be given an opportunity to voice their concerns to the Vernon School District regarding a proposed pellet plant. The district called another meeting on Pinnacle Renewable Energy and Tolko’s plans to build a pellet plant near Lavington Elementary at a special board meeting Wednesday night.  Residents asked the board to hold...

Public meeting will focus on teacher strike, proposed Lavington plant

VERNON - A special meeting set for tonight will focus on two topics that have been in the news lately: The teacher strike and a proposed pellet plant in Lavington. The special meeting, called specifically by the school district to address the two issues, starts at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the board office on 15...

District bullying policy to get slight update

KAMLOOPS - Just over a year ago the teachers’ association began a push for an anti-homophobic harassment specific policy and this month the district will instead update the current bullying policy. The Kamloops-Thompson Teachers’ Association brought forward a request for a discrete anti-homophobic harassment policy last spring, with one teacher saying he felt administration had...