HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2015-11-19, Page 9THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2015. PAGE 9.
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has also been great.
“So far, it has been excellent,” one
of the men said.
Knight echoed his sentiment,
saying the school and those who run
it have been great to deal with.
He said that Huron East Council
always hoped the building would
have an educational component to it,
whether it be used for college
courses or re-training options, but he
never dreamed that it would evolve
into a full-fledged school.
“It’s been a real co-operative
effort,” Knight said.
With the building’s needs always
changing depending on the season,
Knight says tenants within the
school have always been
accommodating. He cited an
example of the co-operation during
the recent federal election. The
former Brussels school has served as
the returning office for the last
provincial and federal elections and
the municipality had rented space to
the returning officer well before the
commencement of classes in
September.
Members of the Brussels Old
Colony School contacted Knight in
August, stating that enrolment was
higher than expected and they
wanted to rent another classroom.
At that time, there was nothing
available, but Huron East worked
out a deal between the Brussels
Community Bible Chapel and the
returning officer to share one of the
rooms rented out by the church and
everybody involved worked together
to make it work
Later this year, in fact, the school
has arranged to run its first school
bus to Brussels every day. It has yet
to make its first trip and already
there are enough students dedicated
to fill it.
Knight says that from the
municipality’s standpoint, he
couldn’t be happier.
When the school was closed and
put up for sale, Huron East was in a
unique position in that the process
for the sale of surplus property
required the Avon Maitland Board to
give notice to a number of agencies,
including the property’s home
municipality.
He acknowledges that there was
considerable risk at the time and that
it was a very unique idea that
council had – to create a small
business incubator out of a former
public school. But it has worked and
it’s now being emulated throughout
Huron and neighbouring counties
based on the success of the former
Brussels Public School.
The building is now turning a
small profit for the municipality,
despite the decision to purchase the
building being far from unanimous
at the time.
He reiterated that it has been a
“real pleasant experience” with the
school, saying that it is a nice feeling
to walk into the school and to see
children running through the halls
and artwork on the walls once again.
Mennonite school board happy in Brussels
Repurposed
Here is the Kindergarten classroom in the Old Colony Christian Mennonite School, which is
housed in the former Brussels Public School. The Kindergarten class is set up in the school’s
former library. The Old Colony school currently occupies seven rooms in the building, teaching
children from Kindergarten up to Grade 7. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
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