Kamloops school board property lease causes a stir between residents and the district

By YASHVIKA GROVER

Kamloops school board is leasing a Tranquille Valley property to the regional district for a community hall, despite protests from residents.

In 2023, the board of Thompson Nicola Regional District approved a motion to try acquiring a school district 78 owned property in Kamloops for the purpose of operating a community hall.

School without students

Previously, the leased property was used as a school for the rural neighbourhood near Tranquille Road. Low enrolment caused the school to shut down operations in 2007.

Since then, the building has remained unused.

“The Kamloops-Thompson School District continually monitors student population growth…The school in Tranquille Valley is not currently listed in the 2025 long range facilities plan,” said the SD73 school board in an email to the Voice. “As a publicly funded body, the district has a duty to make assets not in use available to the other public bodies such as the TNRD.”

Community concerns

Residents opposed to the sale have sent out letters to the school board, which were read out at board meetings.

“We are trying to keep the valley as free from ‘trespassers and fire starters’ and crime in general, as possible and opening this property up to the public is both a danger to us locally and the entire TVCA (Tranquille Valley community association) community,” said Leslie Hardy, a next-door neighbour to the former Tranquille Valley School.

This situation arose years before as well. In 2014, the community association expressed its wish to build a community hall on the property.

The idea was met by resistance from many of the residents at the time. They stated they were told by the community association that the community hall would raise their property taxes by over $200 a month.

In 2023, several homeowners led an informal poll that suggested the community didn’t want a community hall. Others brought up concerns about community safety.

Some residents were worried that the opening of the hall would attract transient people to the area who would eventually wander onto private property, as according to Hardy there isn’t much signage to differentiate public from private property.

Another concern was for the area’s next generation of residents. Hardy said the number of children living on Tranquille Valley Road is growing, and that residents would like somewhere close for them to go to school. They wanted the former school reopened. 

Other residents support the transfer of the school to the district for a community centre. Robert Manz, a local resident said the small community needs a gathering space in case of wildfires.

He recalled seeing a fire in the distance last year and not being able to inform everyone to evacuate or even have a plan.

He said that the Tranquille Valley school was already used as a community hall back when it was active. It would be used for community gatherings, meetings and Christmas parties. Manz said the community hall is an essential addition to the small community.

Next steps

The regional district says it recognizes the need for public consultation before moving forward with any plans.

“We’re a long way away from that because there’s no funding, there’s no service, we are just starting the process,” said Jamie Vieira, general manager of operations at the district.

He said that the district board would have to create a new service for the residents to decide if they want to be taxed.

According to Vieira, any potential plans for a community hall are reserved for the future. He said if plans were to go through, the district would conduct an official poll of the neighbourhood.

“All of the community concerns would be taken into consideration through the whole public process,” he said, “This isn’t an urgent project in the TNRD’s point of view.”

If the community is still opposed to the idea of a community hall, the plans will be scrapped and the property returned to the school district.

“If the community is not wanting to move forward with this process, then I don’t think we’ll move any further,” Vieira said.