Rural hamlet in northwestern Alberta will lose its school at the end of June

Catherine Garrett · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 30, 2025 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

A tiny schoolhouse successful the northwestern Alberta volition beryllium closing this summertime owed to dwindling enrolment. 

Trustees for the Peace River School Division voted 5-1 at a peculiar gathering connected Monday to adjacent the Dixonville School astatine the extremity of June. 

The kindergarten-to-Grade 9 school, located successful the hamlet 540 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, has been operating since 1931.

A announcement posted connected the schoolhouse part website this week says students volition beryllium transported to adjacent Grimshaw Public School, 40 kilometres southbound of Dixonville.

"This determination was not made lightly and followed cautious information of assorted factors including declining enrolment and semipermanent sustainability arsenic good arsenic feedback from the Dixonville community," the connection said.

'Lose-lose decision'

Trustees asked for a viability reappraisal successful January, aft projected enrolment for September was estimated astatine 26 to 31 students — down from 43.

Dixonville School qualifies for enrolment-based provincial backing done the Rural Small School Grant. With much than 35 students, the schoolhouse received astir $500,000 past year.

If enrolment falls beneath 35, backing would get chopped by much than half, the part said.

"We recognize the heavy transportation the assemblage has with Dixonville School. In situations similar this one, these decisions are ne'er intelligibly right, oregon intelligibly wrong, and often consciousness similar a lose-lose situation," said committee seat Crystal Owens.

"Ultimately, we had to marque a determination that we judge is successful the champion semipermanent interests of each students wrong the Peace River School Division."

'A antithetic path'

Three generations of Karl Sorenson's household person attended Dixonville school, including his 2 children.

Sorenson and different parents are successful the process of forming an enactment to look astatine mounting up a charter school. They program to person their archetypal gathering this weekend.

"You benignant of deliberation of the past that you had and immoderate of the memories you had successful it, but, we're besides looking toward the future," said Sorenson.

"Hopefully it's not the extremity of the roadworthy for it, it's conscionable a antithetic path."