HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2010-04-22, Page 1Having received recommenda-
tions last week for the closure of
Zurich Public School, Stephen
Central Public School (R.R. 1
Crediton), Grey Central Public
School (Ethel), Wallace Public
School (Gowanstown) and Listowel
Central Public School, it should be
no surprise to trustees of the Avon
Maitland District School Board that
people are going to have something
to say in response.
“I kind of liken this to a debate: we
gave our points, they gave their
points, and now it’s time for a
rebuttal,” offered Mary Lynn
MacDonald, a member of the
Hensall Public school council, who
participated on one of two separate
Accommodation Review
Committees (ARCs) that were
established by the board in
September, 2009 to conduct public
consultation into possible
changes.
Leading up to the release of last
week’s staff recommendations,
ARCs in Bluewater/South Huron
and Huron East/North Perth
submitted their own reports.
Included with those reports were a
number of “minority reports” from
factions within the ARCs which
didn’t agree with the majority
recommendations. In addition, over
the past few months, three 10-
minute delegations relating directly
to the process have been presented to
the board: one by MacDonald; one
by Alicia Deitner, past chair of the
Grey Central school council; and
one by Huron County Warden Bert
Dykstra.
According to the board timetable,
the decision-making process
will culminate with trustee votes
for both districts on June 22.
Before that happens, however,
it’s expected trustees will hear
several more delegations. Indeed, to
make it easier for the public to
respond, the board’s next two regular
meetings will take place in the
communities that are facing
potential changes: Tuesday, April 27
at Elma Township Public School in
Atwood; and Tuesday, May 11 at
South Huron
District High School (SHDHS) in
Exeter.
Despite the fact both Deitner and
MacDonald have already appeared
before the board, they expect to
make new presentations. The
school Deitner represents has
now officially been named for
closure, and she aims to change
minds.
“People have said to me, ‘it’s over.
The board had already made up its
mind. It’s not worth fighting
anymore.’ But I tell them that’s not
how I’m looking at it,” she said last
week. “There’s still a lot of work to
do.
“The final decision is made by the
trustees,” she said. “We’ve already
done a lot of work, and I’m not
willing to stop now.
MacDonald, meanwhile,
represents a school that’s
recommended to remain open,
including maintaining its role as
home for a number of Special
Education students from across the
region. But that doesn’t mean she’s
entirely happy with the April 13 staff
recommendations.
“We can live with some of the
things,” she commented. “We were
glad they kept the Special Education
together . . . but our big thing is that
nobody wants the 7s and 8s in the
high school.”
The staff report recommends
placing all of the region’s Grade 7-8
students together at one facility –
either as a separate section of
SHDHS, or (depending on the
board’s ability to secure Education
Ministry funding) as part of a
new Kindergarten-to-Grade-12
school on the grounds of the high
school and nearby Exeter Public
School. MacDonald’s group is
considering bringing forth a
different proposal: keeping Usborne
open as a Grade 7-8 “middle
school.”
“Why would we close two schools
when there wouldn’t be enough
room at this point to accommodate
all the students in the high school?”
she asked, referring to what she
believes is a very unlikely dream of
securing money for the
“superschool.” As an alternative,
MacDonald noted, the Usborne
proposal will be brought forward in
a delegation and “we’ll see if
(trustees) bite on it.”
Deitner’s focus, of course, is
saving her own community’s school.
She argues the staff proposal –
placing K-6 students from two
schools into Brussels Public School,
and transferring Grades 7-8s from
both sites to Elma – would lead to
the loss of a well-maintained, easily-
accessible, relatively new school
(Grey Central) with an expansive
playground and adjacent
“Environmental Learning Grounds.”
“If you look at this totally as an
outsider; if you don’t have any ties to
any one of the schools through
relatives or whatever, and then if you
walk into Brussels and then walk
into Grey Central, it’s a no-brainer,”
she said.
For the Ethel school’s place on the
potential closure list, Deitner puts
part of the blame on Huron County
council – specifically, comments
made by Dykstra in his
recent delegation to the board. At the
time, Dykstra urged trustees
that, given the choice, they
should vote to keep a “town school”
open as opposed to a “country
school.”
“That’s just unacceptable,” she
said. “I guess farmers aren’t entitled
to have their children educated in
rural schools.”
MacDonald, too, is wary of plans
that might eventually see too many
small schools close. She believes
that, through the Bluewater/South
Huron ARC process that identified
the smaller Zurich and Usborne for
closure, “it became abundantly
clear” that schools with fewer than
150 students are more likely to be
targetted for consideration. But she
noted a series of recent economic
development announcements in the
area could bring hundreds of jobs . .
. and new students. And advances in
communications technology
increase the possibilities for rural-
based employment.
“People are starting to migrate out
of urban centres. They’re looking at
ways of keeping their costs of living
down,” MacDonald offered.
That won’t be the only criticism
aimed at the Avon Maitland board
over the next few weeks. And some
of that criticism, to be sure, will
probably be delivered with greater
intensity than they’ve seen so far this
year.
“When you know they’re going to
have to close one school or another,
it’s pretty hard to be diplomatic,”
Deitner conceded.
Fire funding
The Emergency Services Training Centre in Blyth received $1,500,000 in funding, half from
the provincial government and half from The Township of North Huron, to build a state-of-the-
art teaching facility at the corner of Blyth Road and London Road. From left: fire chief John
Black, Huron-Perth MP Ben Lobb and ESTC personnel David Sparling, Matt Townsend and
Jeff Howson. Video of the announcement and demonstrations of the unique equipment are
available online at www.northhuron.on.ca. (Aislinn Bremner photo)
Citizens respond to staff recommendation
The Emergency Training Service
Centre in Blyth is about to get a
facelift thanks to federal and
municipal grants.
Ben Lobb, Minister of Parliament
for Huron-Bruce, dropped by the
training centre on April 16 to
announce that $750,000 will be
given to the centre to upgrade its
current classroom facilities as part of
the Community Adjustment Fund,
which is a significant part of the
federal government’s current
funding program.
The grant will be matched locally
by North Huron Council.
The centre, which was recognized
as a great community growth
opportunity, will benefit from the
unique opportunity this upgrade is
providing, according to Reeve Neil
Vincent of North Huron Township
Council.
“Expanding the services of the
training centre will not only enhance
it,” he said. “But bring more people
into the community.”
Lobb, who reportedly has been
promoting the centre to fire
protection agencies wherever he
visits, said that this is a great
recognition.
“I think this is an excellent
announcement for the community
and for the area,” he said. “[The
Community Adjustment Fund] is to
diversify small and rural economies,
and I can’t think of a better way to
diversify our economy here in
Blyth... than to [upgrade] a facility
such as this.
“[The upgraded facilities will]
bring in more students, more
training, and subsequently... provide
economic stimulus to local
restaurants and local hotels.”
Lobb also said that, given that
2010 will be the centre’s busiest year
yet, this upgrade will make things
“bigger and better” in 2011.
Matt Townsend, a representative
from the ETSC, said that the $1.5
million in grants will be used to
build a state-of-the-art tech centre to
the west of the current grounds, on
the corner of County Roads 25 and
4.
“The tech centre will house
equipment and more classroom
space,” he said. “It will also provide
amenities for visitors from out of the
area, like an area for them to
clean up before they travel
home, since this is dirty work we’re
doing.”
The completion date for the new
building is set to be in January of
2011, with ground being broken in
the near future.
Centre receives $1.5 million in upgrades
CitizenTh
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$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, April 22, 2010
Volume 26 No. 16FUNDRAISER- Pg. 12Event held for youngman with cancer SEVERANCES - Pg. 14 Huron County councildebates its official planSPORTS- Pg. 8Blyth native makes asplash at CornellPublications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 PAP Registration No. 09244 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0INSIDE THIS WEEK:
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
By Stew Slater
Special to The Citizen