There will be one less vocational programming option in the Pembina Valley next year. Border Land School Division has suspended its Sustainable Energy Program at W.C. Miller Collegiate in Altona - the newest addition to the RRTVA. Superintendent Krista Curry says the board has been monitoring struggling enrolment numbers for two years now.

"A year ago we had indicated that as of April 1st, we would want to see how many students and that we would have to make a decision at that time."

Ultimately, only four students registered for the program next school year despite hard work by the instructor and RRTVA staff to promote it through conferences and the offering of optional courses. In fact, Curry points out this is the same group of  Level 1 students that is currently enrolled in the program, registering for a second year. This means that no new students signed up for 2017/18.

Curry believes the lack of a direct link between the high school course and post-secondary options is one of the contributing factors to the low numbers.

"When (the students) take Carpentry they know that they can be an apprentice and they know that they can get their certification and their papers to be a carpenter. When they take Automotive they can do the same thing and go through Red River College and get that (certification) when they're finished. With Sustainable Energy however, that link just isn't there yet."

And while Border Land trustees made the hard decision to suspend the Sustainable Energy Program, Curry says should the landscape change and student interest for the course return, the equipment and instructor resources are already in place to restart it.

"We believe that we have a good program...and we may revisit that if things change in the future."

Curry adds the board is disappointed in this outcome but acknowledges there are a lot of options for kids to chose from out there and accepts that the Sustainable Energy Program wasn't a top selection.