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Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 2001-10-10, Page 1WELp.oprT.o , AS'ifietti / • • ESTABLISHED 187 ,; NH NORTH HURON PUBLISHING COMPANY INC I Inside this week Blyth Scouts get 3 Pg•financial boost 0 Senior hockey Pg. o comes to Blyth Area students Pg. 17 among CHSS award recipients 18 'Inherit the Wind' at Pg. Stratford 1 9 Grand's 'Forum' Pg• chases cares away Much thanks Area firefighters helped students of F.E. Madill's Grade 10 civic class work on 30 per cent of their mark by collecting for the New York firefighters on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Blyth firefighter Mike Kerr gets a contribution from a passing motorist on Queen Street. (Vicky Bremner photo) .-14/3), e Citizen Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Volume 17 No. 40 Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2001 75 Cents (70c + 5c GST) School board hears CSACs' reports Scotts named top citizens For the second year in a row, the committee selecting the Citizen of the ,Year for the Brussels area has selected a couple. The recipients this year are Nelva and the late Spence Scott. "With this. being the International Year of the Volunteer, I could not think of two names more deserving," -said a committee member. Nominators applauded the Scotts for their willingness to help in so, many areas that benefit community. The pair were described as "willing people volunteering their time to do whatever needed to be done in the many organizations to which they belong"." • Another nominator said "They have done so much for this community in horticulture, church, Huronlea, the Diner's Club, driving people around and in many other ways, always without recognition." Spence was well-known around the community for his gardening work, and helping out others. Nelva led the diabetes program in the area and volunteered many hours conducting exercise classes for seniors. The presentation of the award, sponsored by The Citizen will be made at a later date by last year's recipients Lyle and Alice Brothers. The review of Huron County's administration will likely cost about the $40,000 limit the consultant conducting the review told county councillors at their October meeting. Hugh Thomas told council the cost wouldn't top the figure he quoted when he was hired. He was replying to Central Huron Councillor Carol Mitchell about added costs involved in interviewing non-union representatives for each department. Thomas. said he had been told by Lynn Murray, county clerk- administrator that these By Stew Slater Special to The Citizen Reports were presented last night (Tuesday, Oct. 9) from four community-based study groups looking into how the Avon Maitland District School Board (AMDSB) should tackle a continuing trend toward declining student enrolment and decreased utilization of student spaces. The four Community Accommodation Study Committees (CASCs), representing West Central, South, North, and Stratford areas of the Huron and Perth County-based board, were struck in May, 2001. Though there is still an opportunity for the public to have input through each school council, under board policy, last night's presentations marked the final, participation by the committees in a process which could potentially lead to school closures. At the next regular meeting, Tuesday, Oct. 23, board staff is expected to-bring forward for trustee approval a list of schools to be studied further for accommodation- related changes At last night's- meeting, the four reports differed considerably, but all followed a general format which had been set out by Bill Gerth, the Avon Maitland superintendent overseeing the CASC process. Chief among these similarities were descriptions of so-called "commonalities" between all schools within the CASC area, as well as "key drivers" influencing any discussions of student accommodations. All committees also made recommendations, though none are binding on the board or trustees, since the CASC reports were received only as information to be considered towards the Oct. 23 list. Differing most significantly from the board-suggested format was the South Study Area It was split into three separate majority reports — from each school cluster serving each of the study area's secondary schools, in St. Marys, Exeter and Mitchell — a so-called "minority report" from the school council of Hensall Public School, and an appended University of Guelph study entitled "Rural Schools and Educational Reform: Should we keep rural schools open?" The three other CASCs presented largely united — though not totally united — reports. Several recommendations from the municipally-appointed representatives — as opposed to the school council-based representatives representatives had elected to be interviewed as a group but he preferred to interview the nine people separately. Mitchell worried About the cost of an extra day of interviews. Councillors voted unanimously in a recorded vote to have the non- union representatives interviewed separately. "I hate to see that we go through the entire process and stop within one day's interviews of doing it right," said South Huron Councillor Rob Morley. — ,to the West Central committee were presented separately from the committee-wide recommendations. And the Stratford Study Area presentation was marked by a minority report from members representing the city's two secondary schools. According to the reports, a considerable amount of dissent among the committees came over the issue of moving Grades 7 and 8 students into secondary school settings. Several such scenarios, among a long list of potential school closures 'and other changes, were suggested in a board-commissioned report from a London-based consulting firm, which was provided as information to the CASCs. Board staff has also promoted the idea in the past, suggesting the new four-year high school. program pushes specialized curriculum down to - the Grades 7 and 8 levels, meaning those students need access to the type of specialized teachers and equipment which are largely currently available only in secondary schools. The West Central committee, supported -by an endorsement from the Huron East municipal council and backed by the fact Seaforth Public , School currently uses portable classrooms to accommodate all its students, recommended moving Grades 7 and 8 students into Seaforth District High School to avert its closure. But not all CASCs agreed. "We recommend that the AMDSB does not consolidate senior elementary students into secondary school facilities," states the North Study Area report, adding that "the emotional well-being of these students was given high importance and it was felt that their needs would be better served at the elementary schools." Similar opposition was expressed in the Mitchell-area submission; and was used as one reason why the Hensall Pubic School council felt it should issue a minority report aside from the Exeter-area submission, which came down in favour of such realignment. The notion of moving students to secondary schools to facilitate the closure of elementary schools was not rejected outright in either case, however. The Mitchell- area report stated, "we are intrigued by the model being used in some places of having kindergarten children in the high schools," and suggested Grade I students could also be included in such a model. And the Hensall report suggested moving some kindergarten to Grade 6 students into a secondary school setting, while providing a regional "middle school" for Grades 7 and 8. The St. Marys-area report, while not commenting directly on the issue, used a statement that "it is not in the best interest of students . . . to close any school" to imply opposition to any solution involving • moving Grades 7 and 8 students. In Stratford, a different Grade 7 and 8 realignment proposal led to the minority report from Stratford Central and Stratford Northwestern secondary schools. The majority Stratford report explained, "it appears, the majority of parents are opposed to Grade 7 and 8 students being integrated into the current high schools," before suggesting the establishment of one Stratford- region school for Grades 7-9 students and another for those in Grades 10-12. Continued on page 6 • • County learns admin. review will cost a total of $40,000