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Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 2002-03-06, Page 6CONSTRUCTION LTD. R.R. 2 Bluevale • LICENSED SEPTIC INSTALLATIONS • SCREENED & FIELD TOPSOIL • BARK MULCH • SAND • GRAVEL • FILL • BACKHOEING • BULLDOZING • EXCAVATING • LOADING & HAULING Give us a call 887-9061 Fax 887-9999 ANNUAL MEETING NOTICE The 129th Annual Meeting of the Howick Mutual Insurance Company Will be held at 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 13th, 2002 Wroxeter Community Hall Speaking off Grey and Brussels junior students competed at the annual Legion public speaking contest last week. Youth Education Chair Sandra Josling, left, and PRO Jo-Ann McDonald made the presentations. Participants were, from left: Tany Bechard, Grey; Lindsay Watson, Brussels, second; Halem Hammermueller, Grey; Derick Bachert, Grey, first; Brianne Wheeler, Brussels; Matthew Cardiff, Brussels. (Bonnie Gropp photo) The Magical Wander Show Presented by "THAT MAGIC GUY" Peter Mennie at Blyth Memorial Hall The Magical Wander Show is a Musical, Magical, Stand-up, Situational Comedy of Errors. A funny, fast-paced festival of foolin' for families. Recommended for school aged children, parents and even grandparents! $5.00 per person Tickets are selling fast, reserve today! Call our box office 523-9300 This show is sponsored by: Black Creek Clothing, Grand View Restaurant & Manjin Electronics PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 2002. Trustee brings meeting to dramatic conclusion By Stew Slater Special to The Citizen An extended Avon Maitland District School Board meeting — which began on Tuesday, Feb. 26 and ended the following evening after the failure to achieve a unanimous vote to proceed beyond 11 p.m. — reached a dramatic conclusion on Wednesday, Feb. 27. Stratford trustee Meg Westley, in discussions about the final of four schools facing closure, made it known that, in the case of Holmesville Public School, she would withdraw her allegiance with the to-that-point slim majority of trustees who see wisdom in closing schools to avoid board-wide financial shortfalls. The first night, about 400 people had filled much of the Seaforth District High School (SDHS) gymnasium to witness the meeting, with about 300 returning the following evening. For almost everyone, the object of interest was a closure vote for either SDHS or Holmesville. Both closures were recommended in a staff report which also suggested closing Stratford's King Lear and Juliet, schools — both of which house senior elementary students — and placing all of that city's Grades 7 and 8 students into one of two secondary schools in September, 2003. Letter to the editor DEAR EDITOR, As I sit here at the school board meeting (Feb. 26) I have to say that I am quite appalled at the way the trustees could have righted a wrong. They voted 5-4 not to cease the student accommodation process. This process involves my school, Seaforth District High School. After the board voted 6-3 to close my school I walked out with my peers. I will admit I did cry in the hall afterwards, but that cry was out of frustration. I am frustrated because the school board uses our school so much! They use the cafeteria and the gym. How could one not be frustrated and angry? It is really hard not to take this decision personally, because we see what goes on everyday. What did we do to deserve this? Throughout their student accommodation process it has always been about money, not about the students. In today's society everything has to do with money, and I am sickened that the board cares more about money than the students. In my opinion there are only three trustees who actually care about the students, they are Carol Bennewies, Rod Brown and especially Charles Smith. They show that there are still Some members of the public left after trustees voted 6-3 in favour of closing SDHS and moving the school's approximately 260 students to Central Huron Secondary School (CHSS) in Clinton for September, 2002. Voting against that motion were Carol Bennewies .(South and West Perth), Charles Smith (Central and East Huron) and Rod Brown (Stratford). Earlier in the meeting, in a slim 5- 4 defeat of Brown's motion calling for a cessation of the so-called "student accommodation review" process, those three trustees had been joined by Butch Desjardine (North and West Huron). So it was no surprise that Desjardine registered his opposition when the motion to close Holmesville was put forward. A recommendation to also close Robertson _Memorial Public School in Goderich, included in a preliminary staff report from December, 2001, had been reversed leading up to last week's meeting. That left Holmesville as the only Goderich-area school on this year's closure list, with students expected to be split between Colborne Central Public School and Clinton Public School. The removal of Robertson from the list set the stage for Westley's dramatic vote against Holmesville's closure. Speaking to the motion, the Stratford trustee listed a series of good people out there who know that the system is flawed. The other trustees, I can sum up in one word — heartless. They are supposed to do what is good for us (the students) and what is good for us is not being on a longer bus ride to a place we do not want to go to. We chose Seaforth because it is close to home, all of our friends are there and in most cases our family (cousins) are there to give us support. It has been proven that smaller schools are better and safer learning environments, so if those six trustees that voted to close our school say it is better in Clinton, why don't they go there and leave us where we want to be. Although I am the student trustee at Seaforth DHS, I cannot take anymore of this garbage. It is sad to think that when I was in Grade 8 I had to go through this, I even wrote a letter to Premier Harris asking why close the high school that I was planning on going to. As well in Grade 10 I had to go through this again. I was so disoriented I didn't know what to think except "why again?" Now that I am in Grade 12 and almost voting age, I see that the root of all evil is money and the student accommodation process is totally flawed. pros and cons regarding the proposed move, including some cost-cutting benefits which drew negative response from the crowd's Holmesville supporters. She concluded, however, that she couldn't justify voting to close just one elementary school in a four- strong Goderich-area cluster which, according to board statistics, will need to be further consolidated in the, near future. Agreeing with an earlier point raised by Desjardine, she suggested ehanges will be especially necessary after enrolment at Goderich District High School suffers significant decline, as is expected, following the graduation of the so-called "double cohort" associated with the full implementation of four-year high school programming. Westley also praised the political lobbying efforts of the Goderich and area community, and argued a closure vote would place the board at risk of losing valuable and effective allies in its fight for changes to the provincial government's educational funding formula. Desjardine, meanwhile, urged members of that community to stay politically involved. "It's up to you people now to support the board and support yourself and work for action from the government," the Goderich-area representative said. In the end, Holmesville was saved I will not go to Central Huron Secondary School because Seaforth is where I want to be. I want to be a SDHS Golden Bear because bears are fine and noble animals, they are strong and firrce and they fight for what they want. , Sincerely, Brandi Williamson, Student Trustee, Seaforth District High School. by a 6-3 count, with chair Colleen • Schenk also voting against the closure motion. Schenk did not speak to the recommendation prior to the vote, so it's unclear whether her allegiance with those who approve of closure switched only when she realized the numbers weren't sufficient to close the school. But following the vote, she joined Westley in warning that the status quo may only be a short-term reality for the Goderich area. "There are changes Caning to the Goderich cluster," Schenk predicted. Trustees appall student