The Whistler Waldorf School’s lease on its current location off Kirkpatrick Way in Spruce Grove will not be renewed beyond 2025.
Whistler’s mayor and council voted in a June 25 closed meeting to “prepare and execute a final extension to [the Waldorf School’s] current lease, which will end on June 30, 2025"—according to an email from the Waldorf School administration to parents shared with Pique, and later confirmed by the school and Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) staff.
According to an email to parents from administrative staff at the school, there will be no changes to school operations in the 2024-25 year.
“However, this decision could significantly impact our school’s operations beyond that point,” it read.
“If the decision stands, it could have profound negative social and economic impacts, displacing over 170 K-12 students from 134 enroled families and closing 50 daycare spots. Additionally, it would result in the loss of approximately 45 jobs.”
PJ O’Heany, who serves on the Whistler Waldorf School board of trustees, confirmed the news to Pique in an interview, but said more specific details remained scarce.
“Unfortunately, that’s all we know as well—we know very little detail beyond that because it was a closed meeting,” he said.
“There are no details. We’ve called councillors—they can’t talk about it, staff can’t talk about it, we have no information around the decision.”
O’Heany said the Waldorf School has operated on one-year leases before in its many years at the Spruce Grove site, so it was “not unusual” to get another one-year lease for the 2024-25 year, but it appeared the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) had made June 30, 2025, “a hard ending.”
Because the meeting was closed, detail around the staff recommendation, rationale for the June 30, 2025 ending, the council discussion, or how individual councillors voted is not available.
Council proceedings are generally taken into closed for three reasons: land, legal and labour.
O’Heany said the revelation caused “a bit of a stir” in the Waldorf School community. Students are currently out for summer, and do not return until Sept. 3.
“We’re a non-profit in town and for 25 years we’ve been meeting all the needs of daycare and alternative education in town. We’ve gone from a four-person schoolhouse when we first started, all the way through to now, [when] we’ve got over 225 children in daycare and school,” he said.
“So to think that we’re in jeopardy, or that the municipality is not going to work with us is very shocking to us.”
A communications official for the RMOW confirmed the municipality will end the lease after June 30, 2025.
"Council’s decision to provide a final one-year extension before terminating Whistler Waldorf School’s lease to operate from Spruce Grove Park comes after more than two decades of discussions with the Whistler Waldorf School Society about a future permanent location for its school," they said in an emailed statement to Pique, adding it was a difficult decision for council.
"Each council member understands the impact on the families and staff involved and weighed the options available with care before ultimately choosing what they believe is in the best interests of the whole community."
The statement explained the RMOW's leasing of lands was intended as a temporary measure while efforts to find a long-term home for the school continued, but in the last two years, the school told the municipality it couldn't secure an alternative location, "and wished to permanently remain in the current location."
That option was not possible for the RMOW, according to the statement.
"Spruce Grove Park sits on land over which the RMOW holds a conditional Crown Grant. The Crown Grant requires that the lands be established and maintained for the purpose of a public park for outdoor recreational use. The long-term plan for Spruce Grove Park did not include an independent educational facility," the communications official said.
"Community demand for parkland is high and available indoor bookable spaces are very limited in our community. A strategic planning exercise was conducted this year, and further parks planning review and design exercises are now planned for next year."
The Waldorf School has operated in Whistler since 2000, and has long been in search of a permanent location. It has operated on RMOW land in Spruce Grove for the last 23 years, having established modular classrooms there under a municipal lease in 2002.
O’Heany told Pique the school would endeavour to find a new home.
“We have some other options we’re pursuing, [but] it’s just a very tight timeline for us and we’re going to be asking the council for some extra time,” he said.
The parent community was alerted to the situation as of July 3, with the school reaching out to its employees at the same time. The board also sent letters to Whistler’s mayor and council.
“Schooling and education is a very personal journey and it means so much to everybody,” O’Heany said.
“Daycare is an essential because people need to have their kids looked after while they work, so we feel we provide that in this town, we provide a good offering for a demand that's in town, and we want to keep working with the town to advance that and allow us all to grow. We would love to work with the municipality, and find a permanent home for our school. That’s been our journey from the beginning.
“Our school community has been an amazing supportive group throughout the 25 years. It’s been a very hands-on school, and we feel as a group we can move our school to a permanent site, find a home for us in the valley. We just need a little bit more help and time from the council.”
As noted, the school is going to be open and operational for the 2024-25 school year, with no disruptions to student education.
Check back with Pique for more as this story develops...
