The first article in a series looking at Qualicum Beach and the potential loss of our local high school, KSS.

Future articles will look at how we got here, the ripple effects school closure would have on the community, the hard choices we have ahead of us, how this has been handled to date, and what - if any - options we have to save our school.

Your comments, thoughts and suggestions are very welcome.

Simply put, I would not be here if KSS did not exist in Qualicum Beach.

Some may say that my absence would be no great loss to the community. I won't argue the point. I suspect that the town of Qualicum Beach would be able to muddle on without me.

But understand this; there are many young families that put down roots in this community for the same reasons that I did - Qualicum Beach is a great place to raise a family.

Having a quality community high school is a crucial part of that calculation. Subtract KSS from the equation and Qualicum Beach ceases to become an attractive solution for families with school-aged children.

While the absence of one genius web geek may be no great loss to the community, the collective impact of many young families making similar decisions would be devastating. 

Should KSS close its doors, we may see a mini-exodus of young families. A more insidious outcome, however, will be all the families who briefly consider moving to Qualicum Beach, appraise their options and find more family-friendly communities elsewhere.

We will, quite literally, never know what we have missed.