The Citizen, 2003-11-05, Page 28PAGE 28. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2003.
Communities relax as AMDSB says no closures
By Stew Slater
Special to The Citizen
School communities across the
Avon Maitland District School
Board can breathe easily in 2003-04,
after trustees passed through the first
step of the board's annual
Accommodation Review process
without receiving any
recommendations for closure or
other major changes.
In each of the last two years,
recommendations have been made
by board staff at this first step of the
process, both for school closure as
well as major changes such as
relocating Grades 7 and 8 students
into secondary school settings.
Approval of such recommendations
in 2001 eventually led to the closure
of Seaforth District High School
(SDHS) and two elementary schools
in Stratford.
In 2002, trustees rejected some
recommendations but voted to
proceed towards the relocation of
Seaforth Public School into the
former SDHS building.
This time, the only
recommendation put before trustees
at their regular meeting Tuesday,
Oct. 28. was to review the policy
regarding the annual review. This is
Under a handicap
The obstacle course was just one of many activities at the
Brussels Public School Halloween fun day on Wednesday,
Oct. 29. Scott Dolmage found that the clothing he had to
don on the first part of the course created a bit of an extra
challenge for the remaining activities. (Bonnie Gropp photo)
in keeping with a request first tabled
in" early 2003 by since-resigned
education superintendent Bill Gerth.
Business superintendent Janet
Baird-Jackson delivered the Oct. 28
report to trustees, telling them that
“based on the (provincial
government’s education) funding
model . . . and using our September,
2003 opening day enrolments ... we
require 191,000 square metres of
school space but are operating
240,000 square metres.” That
translates into 2.944 empty pupil
places at the elementary level and
1,225 in secondary, for a combined
loading in the entire system of 81.6
per cent.
Baird-Jackson’s report highlights
the same trends of declining
enrolment and declining revenue
which were, in part, used by the
board to justify previous school
closures. This time, however. Baird-
Jackson also highlights some
potentially positive developments.
“The recently elected Liberal
government made an election
promise to place a moratorium on
the closing of rural schools for a 10-
month period.” her report notes. She
also explains that money from the
recently-defeated Conservative
government's Rural Education
Strategy will still flow, stating that
, “although (the Avon Maitland
board’s share is) insufficient to
address key infrastructure concerns,
it does enable us to support aspects
of our rural and remote schools that
we have so far been supporting from
general revenues.”
But if the board's school
communities are breathing easy
about the possibility of school
closures, Baird-Jackson’s report tries
to make sure they only breathe easy
for the current year. After that, the
risk will return.
“Although not recommending any
further analysis of student
accommodation this school year, it
should be anticipated that this issue
will remain one of concern for this
board,” the business superintendent
argues.
She also reiterates a recent point
she made about the Rural Education
Strategy, details of which are
currently being ironed out between
the education ministry and school
board officials.
At a previous meeting, Baird-
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Jackson criticized those
administering the program, saying
the criteria for allocating funds are
too strongly geared towards one
challenge faced by rural boards —
that their schools are often a
considerable distance from one
another — and not enough towards
another major challenge: that their
schools are often small.
“If some schools which are close
in distance to others were closed,
some of the remaining schools
would capture funds under this new
grant. The board could thus increase
its revenue through grants by closing
some schools,” she said, offering
another reason why the board may
continue to feel pressure to close
schools.
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