The Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows School Board decided against a staff recommendation to phase out Ridge Meadows College.
But the future of the college is still in question.
A report by superintendent Teresa Downs asked trustees to consider fiscal constraints, program sustainability, as well as “the district’s responsibility to prioritize its legislated K-12 mandate.” The board faces budget challenges, and has looked at cutting the elementary band program. Downs recommended a “phased discontinuation” of the college. Trustees dealt with the issue on Wednesday night, May 13.
Downs reported to the board that online course offerings have increased, and the local college has not expanded despite advocacy efforts over many years. The program started in 1995 to serve adult learners and students. It has graduated about 7,000 students in that time, and serves about 300 per year. It graduates more than 100 early childhood educators, and about 50 education assistants each year.
Board chair Elaine Yamamoto said trustees are not yet ready to close up shop.
“We understand the value and importance of access to in-person post-secondary programming, particularly for learners with diverse needs and backgrounds,” said Yamamoto. “As a board, we have advocated strongly for such options in our communities.”
She noted the 2025 Ridge-Meadows Post-Secondary Feasibility Study Report outlined the fiscal and operational challenges in bringing post-secondary programming into the community. The report recommended online and blended courses, dual-credit opportunities, and regional partnerships as being more sustainable approaches.
“Our own independent review of Ridge Meadows College reached similar conclusions about the fiscal and operational pressures facing the program,” Yamamoto said.
With stretched resources, the board must focus resources on students from kindergarten to high school graduation, said the chair.
“Trustees also weighed the core reality that, as a school district, we are funded to deliver K-12 public education, not to fill gaps in the post-secondary system,” she said. “The direct operation of post-secondary programming is not the work the district is funded or mandated to do, and continuing to operate in this space is not responsible or sustainable in the long term, given our fiscal and operational realities.”
She explained the district could supporting post-secondary access in a partnership, rather than directly operating a separate institution.
“Even so, trustees were not prepared to take a step of this magnitude without being satisfied that every reasonable alternative had been considered,” said Yamamoto.
The board voted against the recommendation, and staff have been asked to investigate operational changes that could strengthen the program’s sustainability and to report back in January 2027.