STAR CITY – The Star City Community Council is recommending to the Northeast School Division to discontinue Grades 7-12 starting the 2025-2026 school year.
At the Aug. 21 SCCC meeting, three members voted for the discontinuance of grades, while two abstained. The SCCC said in their minutes, “Having thoroughly reviewed and considered the input and data collected from the community, and the historical enrolment trends of the school, and the data and information shared by the NESD and School Administration,” the motion to discontinue Grades 7-12 was made.
At the NESD Sept. 17 board meeting, the board approved two motions to discontinue Grades 7 – 12 at the Star City School and review the viability of Kindergarten to Grade 12. Stacy Lair, Director of Education said, “The motions were approved together, one after the other. Within the Education Act, a School and Community Council’s (SCC) recommendation for grade discontinuance gives a Board of Education the option of following the advisement without the necessity of a school review. This is the case with Star City School’s SCC recommendation.”
In a letter sent out to parents, the Northeast School Division stated, “The decision will take effect at the start of the new 2025-2026 school year, meaning the Grade 7 –12 students will be bused to either Tisdale or Melfort when classes resume in September 2025. Star City School will continue to operate as a Kindergarten to Grade 12 school for the 2024-2025 school year but will transition to a kindergarten to Grade 6 school beginning 2025 and beyond.”
Star City School is currently K-12 with enrolment as of Sept. 5 at 44 pupils. In 2024-2025 there is a straight-line projection of an 44 pupils
Lair said in her report, “During the 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 school years, the Star City SCC has been actively involved in determining the best course of action for their high school. With declining enrollment trends, they recognize the importance of engaging the community to evaluate whether discontinuing certain grades could create a more sustainable elementary school. Additionally, the SCC acknowledges the need to assess equitable opportunities for high school students in a setting with very few students.”
Lair's report stated that, currently, access to high school programming and extra-curricular opportunities in Tisdale and Melfort are limited to a family’s ability or means to transport their children. The inequality of this access is a concern for the board.
The February and March board meetings will allow for time to propose, gather feedback and approve the new attendance boundary which will determine school bus transportation to either Tisdale or Melfort. After the March board meeting, an approved catchment area map will be provided.
