By Dylana Milobar

Westsyde Elementary user groups on the hunt for alternatives

Mar 13, 2019 | 5:10 PM

KAMLOOPS — While Monday’s unanimous approval from School District 73 board members to reopen Westsyde Elementary means some breathing room for Kamloops classrooms, many groups using the building will be displaced.

Among the organizations utilizing the schools are the air cadets (204 Black Maria RCAC), who currently use about a third of the building for their 50 members, and will have to find a new base.

SSC Chair Christy Campbell says that process has been tricky, as they need storage, classroom, and parade practice space.

“We have limited income because we are a non-profit organization. Most of the commerical spaces rent between $10,000 and $20,000 a month, and we just can’t afford that,” she explains. “Because the city did give us a very good deal being here.”

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Campbell says they’ve checked out a few places with no luck so far, and worst case scenario, they would have to squeeze in to a smaller facility with only classroom space.

“The Kamloops Flying Club has offered us limited use of their building, where we could teach, we wouldn’t be able to parade and it would be very cramped,” she says. “There’s two rooms in that building. Nice location at the airport, but it won’t fit our needs.”

Meanwhile, the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra, who stores at the facility, will be using the former downtown Value Village location to house their supplies as they set up for the annual Barb’s Used Book & Music Sale.

Kathy Humphreys, KSO Executive Director, says the timing isn’t perfect to be moving their storage, with their performances already displaced with ongoing repairs closing the Sagebrush Theatre.

“So all the books that we had in storage, and the records and those kinds of things, along with some of our archives were moved over that building for now,” she explains. “At the end of April when we’re finished the sale I guess we’ll have a different place to go to, but right now we haven’t figured that part of it out yet.”

As School District 73 prepares the building for school use in 2019 and 2020, the multiple current users of Westsyde Elementary will have to be out by the end of this month.