Qualicum School District has decided to postpone a vote on whether to close the Qualicum Commons building, to provide more time for the Town of Qualicum Beach to decide if it wants to buy the property.
The town and school district have been in discussions for several months about the building, according to Ron Amos, secretary-treasurer for the school district.
The town is looking for more information about the short-term and long-term capital needs of the building, he added.
“At present the town hasn’t got back one way or the other and again that’s fine. They’re doing their due diligence and that works," Amos said.
Trustee Julie Austin said her preference is to defer the motion and return to it at the board's April meeting, once the town has had more time to make its decision.
“We still need to hear a bit more from the town before I would feel comfortable making a decision on this,” she added.
The board's intent is to be transparent, according to Trustee Elaine Young, not to close the Commons.
“Our intent is to make sure that we are coming back to the public and telling them what we’re doing," Young said. "And what we’re doing is, if we have a motion to defer to April, is giving the Town of Qualicum a bit more time to do the analysis that they need to do to decide if they are going to become the landlords at the Qualicum Commons."
The school district announced last spring it intended to close both the Craig Street and Qualicum Commons facilities due to the approximately $4 million to $5 million in capital costs that need to be addressed between the two.
The Craig Street Commons in Parksville will close Jan. 1, 2026, following a decision by the board in January,
The school district shut down four elementary schools back in 2014 due to low enrolment, including Parksville Elementary and Qualicum Beach Elementary, now known as Craig Street Commons and Qualicum Commons, respectively.
The school board's next regular meeting is scheduled for April 22 at 6 p.m.
