Just over 10 years the the community of Giscome hailed the opening of its new school.
Granted, it wasn’t as grand as some … consisting of two modular-design buildings, a gymnasium and the East Line Activity Centre for the community … but it was a school.
It had 21 students, enough to open after health concerns forced the closure and demoltion of the original school in 2009. The cost of the new school was $2.4 million.
That was in January 2015. Now, in February of 2025, the School District 57 board of education has voted to close the school.
It has 10 students and is projected to only have seven next year.
A staff report put before the board last month recommended closing Giscome, the Central Interior Distance Education School, Van Bien Elementary School, McBride Centennial Elementary, Valemount Elementary and Morfee Elementary sometime between this school year and the 2033-34 school year.
Unlike the closure of the school in 2009, this time around it’s not due to the condition of the building but rather the limited extra-curricular activities available in such a small school environment.
Students will be bused to Blackbrun Elementary which, according to staff, is only a 20-minute bus ride.
The board’s decision triggers a 60-day consultation period before a final decision is made.