The Garden Valley School Division (GVSD) board recently sat down with Minister of Education, Ian Wishart.  GVSD Board Chair Laurie Dyck they took Wishart and two of his colleagues on a tour of Winkler's J.R. Walkof School and its 16 portables, but also showcased how well they're functioning despite that.  J.R. Walkof is a K-4 school.
     
After the tour, Dyck says they sat down for a good conversation, and shared how the division is impacted by numbers, and how a new K-8 school would help relieve pressure at Winkler's three elementary schools.  

Superintendent Vern Reimer said GVSD is using 40 of 53 portables that are on their yards.  25 of those 40 are located in Winkler, and 16 of them are at J.R. Walkof.

"That means that 23% of GVSD students, just over 1,000 of our 4,400 students, are in portables," said Reimer.

Dyck says they felt very good about the meeting with Minister Wishart  "I think we walked away feeling like we had been heard, and we were respected.  It was acknowledged that we had given data that was useful, and good questions asked.  When you feel like you've been heard, then it's a positive meeting, and hopefully we can continue moving forward with those conversations."

In terms of meeting the 20-K3 requirements, Dyck pointed out the division needs 16 classrooms to comply, space they physically do not have.