Wading into strange waters
It’s not often I find myself dipping my toes into strange territory like this. I tend to keep this column for sports information I can’t fit in my articles, or use it as a place to discuss current events or the latest going-ons in our little corner of the world.
I’ve never felt I would make much of an editorialist, and sometimes it seems an editorial is less a call for change, and more of a personal opinion of the author. But that’s what this space is for - a place reserved for my personal opinions on matters big and small.
So I’m going to use this space to expound on a large matter facing the Abbotsford school district. For anyone who has been reading the paper for the past few months you know that the school district of Abbotsford is growing.
In the last five, six years it’s grown by roughly 100 students. That’s a good problem to have - while other school districts are struggling to find student bodies, Abbotsford is struggling to find a place for those students’ bodies.
A few years ago the district built four new classrooms for the elementary school. They filled up almost instantly. Since then, the board of education and district administrators have been trying to find ways to create more space for teachers and students to learn and teach.
Around 2019, then superintendent Sherry Baker submitted a grant application to build a FEMA storm shelter. FEMA approved the grant, and awarded Abbotsford just over two million dollars for what would have been a $3.1 million building project. Well, things have changed since 2019. That building will now cost Abbotsford over six million dollars to complete.
Abby superintendent Ryan Bargender spoke before the Abbotsford city council on Monday to garner support for the referendum, and I guess that’s what I’m doing here too. Voters in Abbotsford will have the right to determine whether to support a 1.5 million dollar referendum or not this April at the ballot.
It’s an awesome responsibility, but also an awesome opportunity. The problem of a growing population is not going away. Rather, it continues to grow - and that’s a blessing for Abbotsford at a time when small town USA seems to be getting smaller.
The district needs the space, and the town can always use a safe haven in times of environmental disaster. More than that, this FEMA shelter can become a place of pride for the district. This is more than a want, it’s an absolute need, and something that enriches the city.
Approving the referendum is a great way for voters to say yes to education, yes to safety and build something of value and beauty. Donations have already come in, and there’s support for it, but will it be enough?
Only you can decide that, but this FEMA shelter is good for everyone. A referendum might be a hard thing to swallow, but if there’s anything I’ve learned in my nearly five years here, it’s that Abbotsford residents aren’t afraid to make hard choices - or the right ones.
M USINGS AND G RUMBLINGS
ROSS PATTERMANN REPORTER
