Times Advocate, 1999-12-01, Page 6Editorial&Opinion
Wednesday,December 1, 1999
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EDITORIAL
Private schools to
get public fund-
ing
in Ontario?
In the category of "tales of the truly
bizarre", the news came out late last
week the Ontario government is consid-
ering funding private schools.
The government is having trouble funding the
system it has, without adding more ingredients to
the explosive mixture.
However this proposed funding is handled, you
can bet your child's new and improved "user
friendly" report card (yes, the one that comes
with the faulty software) that students in the pub-
lic system wit be the ones to suffer.
A lot of us have had the creepy feeling that the
changes in education under the Harris govern-
ment have been going somewhere. We were not
sure of the exact destination, but there seems to
be one. However traumatic to staff, students, par-
ents and board officials, they are not random.
Now we understand. Legislating the creation of
parent and community committees while reducing
the power of elected school board officials,
emphasizing what our schools are doing wrong,
attempting to pit parents against teachers, and
messing around with education funding, are
apparently a prelude to the main event - a move
away from a public education system.
Ontario parents have long had the opportunity
of sending their children to private schools,
despite the fact boarding schools, and even the
day schools operated by various religious groups,
have tended to come with hefty fees. Home
schooling, too, has been an ,alternative. The fact
is, few parents have chosen either option, partly
for financial reasons, and partly because our pub-
lic system has been one of the best in the world.
So why do you take something that is not bro-
ken, and fix it? That is a hard one to answer. You
might have a plan for something that is even bet-
ter, or at least more in tune with your personal
view of how the world should work. There might
even be some financial gain for you by bringing in
the new model.
The "how" is easy. Any five-year-old could
explain. You have to break it first. You either chip
away at it until it shatters, or even better, you
create the widespread illusion that it is about to
shatter. Then when you give it a good shove and it
breaks, no one blames you.
Perhaps tossing education into the free enter-
prise soup will work out for the benefit of our
children, or at least some of them. Attracting the
best teachers to a particular institution and pay-
ing them top dollar will certainly work well for
those of us who can pay. Students at that school
will enjoy an excellent student/teacher ratio, and
will have beautifully equipped science labs and
libraries.
Of course, there will still have to be some sort
of publicly funded system. Even a wealthy country
like Canada has its poor. Perhaps the private
schools could have scholarships, to allow gifted
but poverty-stricken students the opportunity for
a good education.
That leaves you with a system which is reduced
to the lowest common denominator. If you skim
off the best teachers, the top students, and most
of the money set aside for education, what you
have left are frustrated, overworked teachers,
huge classes, 'too many students with learning
problems and special needs, and no expensive
extras like speech therapists and science labs.
No thanks.
14k _11111.11111111111
School board should expect a fight.
Here we go again — it must be November because
the Avon Maitland District School Board is back in the
headlines for threatening to close schools.
Concerned parents, students and teachers went
through this ordeal last year as several Exeter -area
schools were placed on a possible closure . list. That
plan was eventually scrapped but everyone suspected
closings would be coming in the near future.
And for some schools, including Huron Park's
McCurdy Public School, the future is now.
According to a list released by the board last week,
McCurdy is one of six or seven schools in the board
which will be further discussed for closure. The others
include Downie Central Public School, Falstaff Public
School, Vanastra Community School and one or two of
Seaforth District High School, Seaforth Public School
and Walton Public School. And while the board's
announcements didn't hit parents with the same level
of surprise as they did last year, that doesn't soften the
blow.
And don't expect parents to let the board get
away with this without a fight. What the board
has to remember is this is an emotional issue
and they're going to have to deal with a lot of
upset parents before all is said and done.
Why this threat of closure? The board has seen
a decline in enrolment, resulting in a decline in
funds from the province. As a result there are
schools in Avon Maitland that have too much
room and not enough students.
McCurdy is one of these schools, operating at a
47-50 per cent occupancy rate. •
The building is also old and big and according
to the board is expensive to maintain. The school is
part of the former air forces base at Huron Park and is
unique among schools in many ways including its large.
gym, wide hallways and refurbished library and junior
kindergarten room. The school is also home to three
specialeducation classes. What will happen to these
children if the school closes?
While in the 1990s downsizing has become a regular
thing and people have accepted the fact that the wild -
spending '80s are a thing of distant memory, these are
children we're dealing with here and the affect school
closings will have on them shouldn't be taken lightly.
And what of the community? What will Huron Park
become if its school closes? Has the board considered
this? And what could that building possibly be turned
into if it closes? Just what Huron Park needs — anoth-
er empty and abandoned building.
The fact McCurdy could close isn't the most trouble-
some aspect of the past week. What's more troubling is
the fact parents feel left out of the decision-making
process. At the board meeting last week two trustees
voted against accepting the potential closure list
because they said the public didn't have enough input
in the process. And if two members of the board feel
that way, how do yon think the parents feel? The
board's move towards closing schools has
been done with all the elegance and grace of
a bull in a china shop.
And the board better be prepared to defend
its actions if last week's meeting is any indi-
cation of things to come. Since the meeting
was designed as an information -only meet-
ing, public comments were not allowed.
When Seaforth Mayor Dave Scott spoke in
protest about the possibility of the Seaforth
high school closing the meeting was
recessed and the police were called, certain-
ly a rare occasion for any meeting, most of
which are about as much fun as a trip to the
SC
THING
OTT
NDC
ON
AND
ANOTHet
dentist.
So as the board prepares for upcoming meetings
where the public can actually speak (on Dec. 7, 8, 14
and 21), a word of advice: be prepared for a barrage of
questions and accusations from angry parents. They're
not happy with you and they want answers.
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