HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2007-12-20, Page 19Officials of the Avon MaitlandDistrict School Board have looked totheir counterparts in the Windsor
area for inspiration as they chart a
path towards building a new
elementary school in St. Marys.
At their regular meeting Tuesday,
Dec. 11, trustees and senior staff
heard a presentation from Rod
Peturson, a retired superintendent
who worked on contract for the
Greater Essex District School Board
as it built several new schools over
the past few years.
Two days later, a delegation of
Avon Maitland senior staff traveled
to the Windsor area to experience the
new schools first-hand.
Greater Essex “has the second
oldest group of schools in the
province,” explained Avon Maitland
education director Geoff Williams,
when asked why Peturson was
invited to Seaforth. As a result, the
board has “a lot of practice”
constructing new schools following
so-called “Prohibitive to Repair”
(PTR) declarations from the
provincial government.
Two elementary schools in St.
Marys – Central and Arthur Meighen
– recently received PTR
designations. A board-mandated,
community-based committee is
currently hosting public meetings
aimed at gathering input about a
replacement facility.
In his presentation, Peturson
described the Greater Essex board’s
attempt to instill a “theme” in each
of the new schools, thereby creating
a facility around which the
community could rally. According to
Williams, the retired superintendent
also worked to ensure the new
schools incorporated “design
elements that are both practical and
appealing.”
After Peturson had left the Dec. 11
meeting, trustees wondered whether
the Greater Essex example could be
adopted in the Avon Maitland board.
In particular, Huron East
representative Shelley Kaastra asked
if the 18-month timeline from PTR
declaration to school opening could
be achieved here.
Williams responded that, in his
estimation, Peturson agreed that “18
months relies, to a certain extent, on
good luck.” This included avoiding
back-ups in construction trades and
materials – which can be common –
and taking advantage of the
generally milder winter weather that
prevails in Essex County.
Pushing further, trustees wondered
about proposed timelines for the St.
Marys project. Under questioning
from South Huron representative
Randy Wagler, business
superintendent Janet Baird-Jackson
said an August, 2009 opening would
require construction to begin in July,
2008, leaving a tight schedule for a
decision in January and design and
site preparation through the winter
and spring.
“A decision at the end of January
leaves us, I would suggest, tight for a
September (2009) start-up,” Baird-
Jackson continued. “The alternative
is to look at a December, 2009
transition if we want a longer
consultation process.”
Pressure for a January decision
about the location and grade
configuration of the new school
(suggested options have included
placing Grades 7 and 8 students in
St. Marys DCVI, as well as creating
a Kindergarten-to-Grade 12 facility
all on one site) may not go over well
in St. Marys, where there have been
complaints that the board has not
fully explored all possibilities. But
Williams pledged to open updiscussion of other options at apublic meeting in St. Marys Jan. 9.So far, he said, all of the scenariosthe board has been looking at havebeen on the grounds of DCVI
because that’s the only feasible route
when taking into account the strict
$4.8 million provincial PTR
contribution.
But with the issue now being
openly discussed around the town,
he hopes to hear from the
municipality if there may be some
possibility of support to counteract
land prices on other potential
locations.
Speaking to reporters after themeeting, Williams added that theGreater Essex example may not betotally adaptable to St. Marys foranother reason: the size of the PTRgrant.
He noted that, at the time the
Windsor board was building
replacement schools, it was also
experiencing enrolment growth due
to a booming automobile sector.
That meant administrators could
supplement the PTR money with
funds from the province’s New Pupil
Places grant – which the Avon
Maitland board will not be able to
do.
THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2007. PAGE 19. AMDSB looks to Windsor for inspiration
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