From: Anne Cateaux ACateaux@ecova.

com Date: Tue, Sep 24, 2013 at 4:06 PM Subject: A Letter from a Concerned Mother To: jbrennan@sd68.bc.ca, dallen@sd68.bc.ca, bill.bard@sd68.bc.ca, nancy.curley@sd68.bc.ca, bill.robinson@sd68.bc.ca, kim.howland@sd68.bc.ca, terrylynn.saunders@sd68.bc.ca, dneary@sd68.bc.ca, swelch@sd68.bc.ca, david.hutchinson@sd68.bc.ca, jblain@sd68.bc.ca, pturin@sd68.bc.ca, educ.minister@gov.bc.ca Cc: savecedarschools@gmail.com, alecmcpherson2011@gmail.com, doug.routley@bcndp.ca District 68 Trustees, District Staff and Honourable Fassbender, July 4, 2006 was a very important day for my family. We flew from Toronto, Ontario to Cassidy Airport where we drove the short 10 minutes to our new home in the beautiful area of Yellow Point. Looking back now I realize it took a tremendous amount of courage for my husband and I to pick up and leave everyone and everything we knew behind, and move to a province where we had never lived before. We were drawn to this magical place and felt we could give our children a healthy and active life here. Our boys were 6 and 3 at the time. Knowing Cedar had a primary, middle and high school facility, was one of the main reasons we settled in the area. We CHOSE Cedar for its schools, strong community and rural lifestyle. It is unfathomable to us that the Board has decided to close our schools. But what is truly disturbing and tragic is the fact that the Trustees did nothing to stop this injustice. Where is the logic in converting the newest high school in the district to a K to 7 school? Where is the evidence that supports these decisions? Were they grounded in defendable data, bulletproof facts and trustworthy statistics? Furthermore, I would like to know at what point did the Board and Trustees consult with the parents of our community about fundamentally changing the learning environment to align with 21st Century Learning. If any school model has ever been mislabeled, this has to be it! This concept has been recycled and repackaged many times before both in Canada and aboard and regardless of the name, it fails miserably every time. I did not choose for my children to be educated this way. How dare you not honour the importance of your job! How dare you jeopardize the future of our childrens education through your lack of research, commitment and miss placed pride! Do you not realize that you chose to enter into a vocation that requires a level of compassion and precision that extends beyond a mere job? Where in your good conscience, does the welfare of a thousand children not play into your daily thought process? Your decision to close Cedars schools and retrofit our brand new high school into a super junior school impacts not only the level of education our children will receive but will severely impact the quality of their social and home life experience.

As a tax paying homeowner I am respectfully requesting that the following information be disclosed: Statistical information regarding traffic accidents and fatalities along the three major routes our children will be bussed starting next year. I would like to know these averages as compared to the routes Cedar children have been taking for the past ten years. I trust you did your homework and this information should be readily available I would like to understand how the capital investment budget was derived at and who will be funding these CAP X expenditures I would like to have disclosed the forecasted operational budgets including the variance from all possible scenarios. (Surely, the Board and Trustees must know that just because you tell a community that they have to send their kids to one school, that those precious head counts may not all end up where you want them) Lastly, I would like to have a copy of the letter that I submitted back in early June during the consultation period. My comments were submitted on a green form that was sent home from school. My understanding is a 8 inch binder exists. If true and our letters were read and documented, then it should be no problem to locate. I signed it.

I am employed by North Americas largest energy and sustainability management consulting firm. Every day I work with Fortune 500 companies who actively work towards being profitable and who try to make sound decisions that will protect their shareholders investments. You work for the public. The cost of education is not measured by dollars alone. Canadians believe in the value of education. It is not a mere privilege; it is our childrens right. I support changes that mean the Board can be judiciously and fiscally responsible with taxpayer dollars. I do not support Boards and Trustees who have hidden agendas and who knowingly mean to do harm to a community. I truly hope each and every one of you will find the time and courtesy to respond to my email. Best regards, Anne Cateaux