As expected, School District 57 trustees voted unanimously to close Giscome Elementary School as of June 30, 2025.
The vote, held at a special public virtual meeting on Tuesday, April 22, came following a two-month public consultation period which provided further confirmation that it’s no longer feasible to keep the school open with the low number of students in the area.
There are currently only 10 students now attending Giscome and that number is expected to drop to seven or even four by the next school year. Those students will be sent to Blackburn Elementary or will be granted preferential placement when possible in another school in the city at the parents’ choosing.
The school, on Upper Fraser Road on the west shore of Eaglet Lake, is a 40-minute drive from the centre of Prince George. In 1998, when Upper Fraser Sawmill east of Giscome was still in operation, 60 students attended Giscome. The mill closed in 2003. The student population ranged from 27 in 2025 to 35 in 2021 and has steadily declined ever since. According to the district’s report, at least 20 students are needed to keep the school viable.
The school board, school district staff and parents of kids attending Giscome universally agree the educational options and resources are severely limited in a school with 10 or fewer students and nobody voiced any objection to the pending closure.
“This is one of the very rare occurrences where everybody sees the education program exactly the same way and that it’s not best meeting the needs of students and that’s what this is all about,” said SD 57 superintendent Jameel Aziz. “This is not about cost savings, this is not about efficiencies. We can do better for those students and we are going to do better for those students.”
The closure will save the district an estimated $370,000 in the first year and $170,000 in the second year and every year after that. That reflects the loss of a $200,000 annual provincial grant. Aziz reminded the board that cost savings are not the reason for shuttering Giscome.
Increased choices for students, the ability to play on school teams and participate in field trips, more role modelling/mentoring and peer tutoring are cited as some of the benefits offered by a larger school.
The original board decision to consider the closure happened at the regular public meeting on Feb. 11. The school board collected public feedback from Feb. 12-April 19 which determined there were no objections.
The school has just one full-time employee on a staff of four. The vice-principal is also the teacher who works an extra seven hours per week. There’s a part-time secretary (seven hours per week) and part-time custodian (8.75 hours per week).
No layoffs are anticipated as a result of the board’s decision and Giscome staff will be offered positions at other schools.
The school building is one-third owned by the school district and two-thirds owned by the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George. Residents want the building and its gym and library to remain open for community use.
The current school building opened Jan. 16, 2015, partially built with locally raised funds as a community centre. A group known as the Easy Living Activity Centre built two classrooms and a breezeway as an addition to the school and that group has the opportunity to purchase the building.
If it is leased, any lease less than 10 years in duration requires board approval. Any lease longer than 10 years requires approval of the Ministry of Infrastructure. Sale or disposal of the property, more likely after eight years of the closure, will have to follow SD 57’s Policy 7220 governing school sites.
