Parents in rural Alberta hamlet fight to save their 94-year-old school

The future of a small school in the northwestern Alberta hamlet of Dixonville is in question after years of declining enrolment.

Trustees with the Peace River School Division will decide before the end of April whether to keep Dixonville School operating or close it at the end of the school year.

The kindergarten-to-Grade 9 school has been educating children since 1931.

"The fact that it could be closed is really hard to hear," said Karl Sorensen, who lives in the hamlet 540 kilometres by road northwest of Edmonton. 

Three generations of Sorensen's family have attended the school, including his father, his aunt, his uncle, himself, and now his two children.

Before that, his great aunt was hired as one of the first teachers at the school. It's one of the reasons why he's determined to save it.

"We understand it's a small school, but we think it's very important for the community and the greater area to keep it open and hope for better times." 

"Better times" for the school means higher enrolment than it is seeing now.

In January, trustees asked for a viability review after estimates put the projected September 2025 enrolment at 26 to 31 students, down from the 43 students enrolled in September 2024.

A steady decline in enrolment over the past five years has been a concern for the division, but the projected drop below 35 students for 2025 would mean a large cut in provincial funding. 

"It's definitely not a great situation to be in, when you're discussing the possibility of closing down a school when you know that it is the heart and soul of this community," board chair Crystal Owens said in an interview.

"It's not that the school board wants it closed by any means. We offer great educational programming out there and we have amazing staff, but ultimately it comes down to the amount of students and the amount of dollars attached to those students."

Dixonville School qualifies for provincial funding through the Rural Small School Grant.

The annual funding is determined using an average enrolment calculation. With more than 35 students, the school received nearly $500,000 last year, but if enrolment falls below 35, funding would get cut by more than half.