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The Times Advocate, 2007-11-21, Page 2020 Times -Advocate Wednesday,November 21, 2007 Review committee holds meeting By Stew Slater SPECIAL TO THE TIMES -ADVOCATE SEAFORTH — According to Avon Maitland District School Board policy, the first responsibility of three "Accommodation Review Committees" (ARCs) is to assess the value to the com- munity of existing schools in Mitchell, Goderich and St. Marys. But at last week's joint ARC meeting - meant to introduce committee members to their tasks, before they begin their separate meeting schedules this week - it became clear many ARC members intend on looking towards the schools of the future. "If all the schools in Mitchell were to burn down today, and the school board was to start again from scratch, how would the schools look different from what we have today?" asked Dean Smith, representative on the Mitchell ARC for the Mitchell Public School Council, at the meeting Nov. 6 at the board's Seaforth headquarters. The ARC meetings represent step two in an accommodation review process which could see a consolidation from two elementary schools down to just one in any or all of the three communities. The communities were identified for review in a preliminary analysis, present- ed by Avon Maitland staff to the board Sept. 11, and trustees then voted to form the ARCs. Each ARC must now host a minimum of four public meetings, stretching over a minimum of 90 days. The first of those meetings is already scheduled for 7 p.m. in the high schools in each town: Nov. 14 in Mitchell and Nov. 15 in Goderich and St. Marys. Voting members of each ARC include representatives from affected school councils, community members chosen by each school council, and a member appointed by the affected municipal gov- ernment. At the Nov. 6 meeting, operations superintendent Ted Doherty repeatedly drew participants to the first ARC task outlined in board policy: the School Valuation Framework. "In terms of the work the ARCs are going to do ... these packages need to be completed for every school," he said. The Frameworks were mandated by the provincial Education Ministry when it overhauled Ontario's school closure guidelines. They include some factors which can be easily identified by the board itself, such as the projected upkeep costs, inventories of programs, services and staff and of the physical attributes of the property. But they also include less tors, like the existence of partnerships with other community stakeholders, the relationship of students and staff with townspeo- ple, fundraising activities and events held outside classroom hours. "There may be things we don't know about the com- munities because we don't necessarily live in them," education director Geoff Williams said in an interview after the meeting. In this regard, accommodation and facilities administrator Phil McCotter def- initely drew the most attention, among the board's presenters. He fielded questions about how the capacity rating for classrooms is deter- mined, how it's decided whether or not a board is eligible for "new pupil places" funding, how a school's projected 10 - year and 25 -year maintenance costs are determined and the validity of enrolment projections. But on more than one occasion, Doherty found himself advising ARC members to step back from dreaming about future facilities, and begin by assessing the existing schools. Jose Gillespie, school council represen- tative for Robertston Memorial Public School in Goderich, urged board staff to inform the ARCs what possible solutions they've come up with and the budgets involved, to ensure the committees don't spend time talking about ideas that will never happen. Citing her involvement the last time the board proposed school closures, she argued such discussions lead to unneces- sary disputes about the merits of each concrete fac- facility. Doherty, a former Goderich high school principal, responded that those options will eventually be brought forward, but not necessarily right now. "Sure, there are scenarios we've talked about, just like there are probably sce- narios you've talked about. But we're hesitant to do that too early, because we don't want to squash the kind of discus- sion we've already heard tonight." Interviewed after the meeting, St. Marys town council repre- sentative Don Van Galen picked up on the theme, saying trustees and board staff "already have us put in their little boxes. We'll do what we're supposed to do and present our reports, but they've already decided what they're going to do." Williams confirmed the final decisions - which he predicts would come on the board's last meeting in June 2008, for implementa- tion in September 2009 - do rest with trustees, and it's entirely possible trustees will not vote entirely in accor- dance with ARC recommendations. But he added - and this was reiterated by board chairperson Jenny Versteeg when she spoke to ARC members - that this particular group of trustees has, on more than one occasion, also voted against the recommendations of board staff. And the education director's candid opening address to ARC members spoke directly to the type of charge leveled by Van Galen. He cautioned meeting participants that "rumours" and "accusations" will be made public about the accommodation review process. "We know from the last round (of Avon Maitland accommodation reviews in 2000 and 2003), and even from naming these three communities this year, that there's a fairly high level of anxiety over these issues," Williams told reporters. "And I was just warning (ARC partici- pants) about some of the things we might see - things that I think are inevitable." Repeatedly, however, board officials The first of those meetings is already scheduled for 7 p.m. in the high schools in each town: Nov. 14 in Mitchell and Nov. 15 in Goderich and St. Marys. Book early for your Christmas meal ZURICH - Halloween was dress up day for a few peo- ple Helen, Gwen, Yogi and Glena. Special door prizes were given out to Glena, Cecelia, Helen and Trudy . Glena had a reading enti- tled "Ramblings of a retired mind." Cecelia and Gwen enjoyed the last of Glena's garden flowers. We con- cluded the day with a penny sale winners were SherrieLyn, Lottie, Deb, Doris, Helen, Irene, Yogi, Kay, Marj. On Nov. 7 we placed pop- 0 0 0 pies on a cross for Remembrance Day and Stew Taylor from the Hensall Legion was our guest speaker. Progressive euchre was played with high score Ron Dau second high Ursula Regier, and lone hands Lee Regier. On Nov. 14 Glena showed slides of her Hawaii holi- day 2006 and had a read- ing about our ten dollar bill which has a veteran Robert Metalfe who recent- ly died and the poem "In Flanders Fields" printed on it (check it out on the inter - net search veteran ten dol- lar ) 50/50 draws were won by Lee Regier, Lottie Grenier, and Trudy. Students assisting this month were Sandy Smith, Kaitlyn Ryan, Laurin Lee, Mathew McAllister and Rory Halfyard Our upcoming activities will be Dec. 5 our Christmas meal with a request that we book early by phone either Kay at 236-4632 or Marg at the office 235 0258 pledged this time things will be different. The review process, altered in response to the overhaul of provincial guidelines, is specific about public consultation, time- lines, and the responsibilities of each group of participants. "There was a sense the last time that the board was doing things to the com- munities in which the communities had no say," suggested Williams. "This time around, I don't believe it will be that way to the same extent." And several meeting participants backed up the education director's belief. "I think we're all a lot wiser this time around," commented Gillespie in an interview. "I think the board has learned a lot and I think we're all better prepared...The majority of the people I've spoken to, in my opinion, are ok with the fact that change is going to have to happen." St. Marys DCVI school council repre- sentative Frances Latham, meanwhile, called the process "really exciting. We have a great opportunity to do something of importance for the community." And her fellow ARC member Pat Weir, representing Arthur Meighen school council, added, "this feels like a different process (than previous accommodation reviews). The public consultation is built into it in a different way. It fells like a more transparent process." For information about the accommoda- tion reviews, visit the board's website at www. yourschools. ca Those wishing to make a presentation at the local ARC meetings can contact the committees at the same location. All ARC meetings are public. Non-vot- ing ARC members include the principals from each school and the area's trustee. Voting members are as follows: Goderich: Jose Gillespie, Liz Brown, Kim Payne, Judy Crawford, Karen Goulet, Linda Mabon and Deb Shewfelt. Mitchell: Dean Smith, Jennifer Schroeder, Ken Clark, Michelle Chessell, Darren Bulbrook, Bonnie Heimers, Mike Tam and Bert J. Vorstenbosch. St. Marys: Pat Weir, Judy Hayes, Francis Latham, Chris West, Marg McBride and Don Van Galen. ROESTENBERG WELDING LTD. JR POST TN BEAMS • COLUMNS JR POSTS • JR COLUMNS LINTELS • ROLLED LINTELS ARCHES • SAFETY STANDS SITE WELDING • ENGINEERING 519-227-4646 JR fN COLUMN Call before noon and receive NEXT DAY DELIVERY on any stocked items! 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