The Citizen, 2010-07-01, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2010.Learning Grounds prove to be difference
Blyth blood donor clinic in July
Trustees have ‘been had’ on decision says writer
Continued from page 1Tuesday’s meeting, the board hadheard numerous public commentsfrom supporters of both schools.These included criticisms of theLearning Grounds, with suggestions
the area’s features are in poor repair,
and the facility has not lived up to its
one-time promise of attracting
outdoor education students from
across the school board and beyond.
The only trustee to appear swayed
by these arguments, however, was
Stratford’s Doug Pratley. He argued
the negative environmental effects of
transporting an entire village’s
students – many of whom currently
walk to school – to the rural Grey
Central site far outweigh any
positive effects of keeping the
Learning Grounds.
“We’re putting an unnecessary
burden on the system to keep this
Learning Grounds open,” he said,noting there are other opportunitiesnearby for student-based outdooreducation. Pratley – in spite ofstating he believes the board shouldclose a school in the area – voted
against Westley’s motion.
Perth East trustee Tina Traschel
admitted to wavering on the issue,
particularly in the wake of Pratley’s
strongly-worded argument. But she
eventually voted in favour.
Perth South representative Carol
Bennewies, meanwhile, took efforts
to promote the notion of housing K-
8 students at Grey Central instead of
K-6. Of the greatest concern to her is
the number of transitions now being
asked from area students – who will
attend one school from K-6, then
potentially transfer for Grades 7 and
8, then again for Grade 9.
Bennewies, however, eventually
voted in favour of the K-6 option andclosure of Brussels.On repeated occasions during themeeting, Laurie implored the boardto consider reconfiguring catchmentarea boundaries between Grey
Central and Wallace Public School
in Gowanstown – which will also
close, pending Education Ministry
funding, thanks to another approved
school consolidation motion at the
June 22 meeting. The Huron East
representative believes sending more
students to Grey Central would
make both the Ethel school and
Brussels viable for the near future.
“I think, probably down the road,
we will have to look at closing one
of these,” she said at one point. “But
I don’t believe that time is now.”
Implementation of the changes are
contingent on the board following
through on its planned construction
of a new K-6 school in North Huronto accommodate students currentlyattending Turnberry Central,Wingham, East Wawanosh andBlyth Public Schools. That planincludes creating the senior
elementary wing at F.E. Madill –
which, in keeping with the June 22
decision, would also house
approximately 75 students from the
Brussels and Grey Central
catchment areas.
“Our belief is that the new [North
Huron] school will be ready for
September, 2012,” education
superintendent Mike Ash told
reporters, following the meeting.
A June 23 news release from the
board, however, made it clear the
new school may still be a long way
from becoming reality.
The news release explains
negotiations are ongoing with the
Municipality of North Huron about aproposed K-6 site adjacent to F.E.Madill, but points to a “significantbarrier which is threatening toscuttle the project at the proposedsite.”
“Two appeals have been launched
with the Ontario Municipal Board
objecting to the plan for the site’s
development,” the news release
explains, adding “these appeals will
most certainly create additional
costs and further delays in
completing the necessary legal
agreements to move forward toward
construction.”
If F.E. Madill’s new senior
elementary wing is not operational
by September, 2012, Ash explained
to reporters, administrative staff
would have to seek approval from
trustees to delay the closure of
Brussels.
THE EDITOR,
The Avon Maitland District
School Board at its June 22 meeting
made another in its regular series of
appallingly short-sighted decisions –
this time to close Brussels Public
School in order to save the
suddenly important Grey
Central Environmental Learning
Grounds.
Aside from the fact that the Grey
Central school has expended little
effort to maintain the grounds in
recent years and has adopted a
policy of sending its students to
Maitland Valley Conservation
Authority’s Wawanosh Centre,
where they are guided by a qualified
environmental educator, the
obviously unloved, currently
unlovely, tragically-undeveloped
and definitely unfinanced, sea of
weeds suddenly became important
when it could be used as a
bargaining chip in a rather vicious
campaign waged to preserve
Grey Central at the expense of
Brussels.
This campaign has left many in
Brussels feeling used as in the midst
of the verbal trashing of Brussels
Public, the Grey Central Parents
Association saw no contradiction in
holding its fundraising car wash
event for the Grade 8 graduation trip
at the Brussels Fire Hall, presumably
because they felt they would get
more business in Brussels than in
Grey.
The fact that the trustees, a
number of whom had obviously not
taken a close or rational look at the
newel they were intent on preserving
(and obviously not intent on
financing) is rather unsettling. The
dispassionate observer is left
with the unfortunate observation
that the trustees latched on to a
simplistic concept of ‘environment’
without actually assessing the
implications of what they were
doing.
The fact that one of the
trustees offered as a rationale
for closing Brussels the fact that
the land would be worth more and
that Grey would be hard to get rid of
only adds to the impression of
people who really don’t understand.
The land is only of significant value
if it is converted to housing and even
a slight understanding of community
development is sufficient to indicate
that housing pressures decrease, not
increase, in communities that lose
their schools.
My person favourite in the “trustee
unreality stakes” however, was one
trustee’s pious prattle about the
Brussels and Grey communities
coming together to develop the
potential of the Environmental
Learning Grounds. I would suggest
that he should discuss his idea with
the board psychologist (if they have
one). The only use that has been
made of the grounds in the last
decade is as method of depriving
Brussels of its school. Even the
simplest among us might wonder if
this is a good start for community
rapprochement.
To the two trustees who presented
a plan to preserve both schools at
little or no extra cost, you have my
thanks. Unfortunately your
colleagues were hell-bent on closing
things. To the trustee who pointed
out the utter foolishness of
preserving the environment by
doubling the number of buses
vomiting tons of CO2 into the air,
thank you, the note of scientific
sanity was refreshing.
To the rest – you’ve been had.
However, as the numbers in the Grey
Central decline in the long term (and
they will) you will close Grey
Central in the future and be able to
ignore Huron East completely.
And before anyone writes this off
as someone who is solely a Brussels
School supporter – I had children
in both schools and each school,
in its own way, did its best for my
sons.
David Blaney.
THE EDITOR,
I would like to share the following
facts:
• Between now and the end of
August, Canadian Blood Services
needs 194,000 donors to give blood
across Canada. Of Canadian Blood
Services’ 432,000 blood donors, 50
per cent only give once a year.
• Some of our most loyal donors
are in the age category of 45 - 54. In
2009, the average age of a donor was
41 years old, and donors older
than 50 years old accounted for 30
per cent of all whole blood
donations.
• We need to recruit approximately
77,000 new donors this year to grow
our donor base and to keep up with
the growing demand for blood and
blood products.
• Young people (17-24) in Canada
accounted for about 139,000 blood
donations last year, or 15 per cent of
all blood donations in Canada.
People can begin donating blood as
early as 17 years of age.
Help us meet patient needs this
summer by supporting our
upcoming blood donor clinic in
Blyth. The need for blood and blood
products never takes a summer
vacation.
The Community Blood Donor
Clinic will be taking place at the
Blyth Community Centre on on
Friday, July 23 from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Call 1-888-2-DONATE or 1-888-
236-6283 for more information or to
schedule your life-saving
appointment. New donors and walk-
ins are welcome.
Thank you for your support.
Marisa Gatfield
Community Development
Co-ordinator.
Letters to the Editor
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Tuesday July 20 at 7:30 p.m. Regular Council Meeting
THE EDITOR,
On June 22 a decision was made
by the trustees of the Avon Maitland
District School Board to close
Brussels Public School and scatter
its pupils among several other
schools to which they would all be
blessed.
To say I was surprised is an
understatement, as this option was
one that was posited at the beginning
of the Accommodation Review
Committee (ARC) process but was
quickly seen to be based on
erroneous and incomplete
information, of no financial or
educational value and, patently, to
shore up the results emanating from
an inappropriate decision in regard
to the creation of a “super school” in
Wingham.
Into the process it was agreed, at a
public meeting in Listowel, that the
closure of Brussels and, for that
matter, Grey Central were not in the
best interests of the students, the
taxpayer or the communities
involved and other options should be
addressed. When I hear that
logic, facts and community concerns
were completely dismissed by
six of the nine trustees I feel it
is my duty as a taxpayer and a
citizen to pose the following
question to each of the trustees:
On what grounds do you justify
the closure of Brussels Public
School?
The trustees cannot hid behind the
mantra of “this is the best
decision” because it is not. You
cannot tell us it is based on well-
researched and factual data,
because it is not. You cannot tell us
that this is for the educational
benefit of any student in the Avon
Maitland District School Board,
because it is not.
I would appreciate your response
by August 15 and if it not
forthcoming, I will feel free to
indicate that “no valid independent
judgement” as indicated above
would be the correct answer.
If, however, the trustees choose to
reverse their decision, there is no
shame in that action but actually a
demonstration that mature reflection
can bring positive results.
I look forward to a response from
the board and its trustees.
Yours truly,
Cathrine E. Campbell.
Writer wants some answers
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