There are six school districts in the South Okanagan and Similkameen, serving 12,103 students, according to ministry statistics. The smallest districts, Keremeos and Kettle Valley, have about 600 students each. The largest is Penticton, which more than doubles School District 14's enrolment of 2,490. Six districts with 12,000 students just doesn't fly. Wells is concerned that the process may be rushed - he said restructuring will occur before next fall's school board elections.
Every district believes they have something special - and they do.
We have the quarter system in the schools down here. It was brought in with a special goal in mind and it's working very well. Every district has it's own little lists of needs and wants. Smaller districts are also wary of being represented proportionately with larger districts and having less input for their schools. On the plus side, Wells said amalgamation could mean the sharing more resources.