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The Times Advocate, 2008-11-19, Page 3Wednesday, November 19, 2008 Times -Advocate 3 Usborne parents speak out to keep school open By Scott Nixon TIMES ADVOCATE STAFF USBORNE Usborne Central School par- ents want to keep their school open. As previously reported, the school is facing possible closure as the Avon Maitland District School Board looks for efficiencies in an age of declining enrolment and tight economic times. With only 128 students, Usborne is at only 55.5 per cent capacity, a problem for the board in light of the fact school boards receive pro- vincial funding based on the number of pu- pils they have. The board has formed an Accommoda- tion Review Committee (ARC) to look at the school and make recommendations on the school s future, which could include closure. The board will make the decision in June. The ARC met Nov. 12 at the school and, af- ter about an hour discussing procedural mat- ters, allowed input from the public. Karen Windsor, former school council chairperson for McCurdy Public School, spoke of the dif- ficulty the community, particularly the stu- dents, went through when the Huron Park school was closed eight years ago. She said she was attending last week s meeting to show her support to Usborne and reminded the committee that school closures are emo- tional and difficult situations. She also asked if the board tracked the for- mer McCurdy students to see how they did when they moved on to other schools. "What happened to them?" Windsor asked. She said McCurdy s closure was traumatic for some of the students. At the Usborne ARC information meeting in October, the committee asked the board to provide it with possible scenarios about what could be done with Usborne and its students. At last week s meeting, the board provided three scenarios, all of which involved Us - borne s closure, something which irked some members of the public in attendance who accused the board of already making up its mind about closing the school. The first scenario involved closing Usborne and moving all of the students to Exeter Pub- lic School. Numbers provided by the board show that Exeter does have enough room for the Usborne students. Another scenario in- volves closing Usborne, moving the grades 7 and 8 students to South Hu- ron District High School and the Kindergarten to Grade 6 students to Exeter, while a third would see Usborne closing and moving students and Exeter, and said, in light of declining en- rolment, Avon Maitland is concerned about the possibility of combined classes of two and three grades. He said the board already has a couple of schools with triple -grade classes and "that s a concern for us." He added when a school reduces staff based on enrolment, it loses specialized knowledge and ends up with teachers teaching subjects out of their area of exper- We have to balance our books, folks. MIKE ASH, BOARD SUPERINTENDENT to Exeter Public, Stephen Central and South Perth Centennial. Board superintendent Mike Ash, who chairs the ARC, said the scenarios presented weren t suggestions, they were simply possibilities. Parent Wendy Cleave, who has lived out west and in the Northwest Territories, said those areas frequently use "middle schools." She suggested having all of the Kindergarten to Grade 3 students in Exeter and area go to Usborne to create a Kindergarten to Grade 3 school, while all of the Grade 4 to 8 students would go to Exeter. Usborne ARC member Helen Kadey later spoke in favour of Cleave s idea. Cleave also said the board needs to start looking at education expenses as "invest- ments" rather than "costs." "We need to invest in my kids and everyone else s kids," she said, adding she chose Us - borne over Exeter for her children. Parent Pam Benoit pointed out that the three scenarios involving Usborne s future all show the school closing. "You re devaluing our school," she said, adding that the board should also be provid- ing scenarios that show the school staying open. Ash offered his apologies if it appeared as though the board was comparing Usborne tise. Parent Bob Byelis spoke in favour of small schools, say- ing they offer a higher level of education. Suzanne Meinen added, "We love this school and I don t want to see it go." She said the families at Usborne share common values. Manfred Loerzel, who lives in Middlesex County, has two children at Usborne and a third who will attend the school in a couple of years. Living 12 kilometres away from the school, Loerzel said he interviewed other schools and chose Usborne over them because of the school s quality. He said he wanted his children to attend a rural school and doesn t want them going to school in town. A busi- ness owner, Loerzel said he does a lot of busi- ness in Exeter, and should Usborne close and his children go to a different school, he 11 take his business elsewhere. He urged the board to keep Usborne open. Kadey said she was disappointed the sce- narios offered by the board all showed Us - borne closing. She said she wants the school to stay open and would like it to become a Junior Kindergarten to Grade 3 school, with all the children from Exeter in that age group attending Usborne. With the average bus ride for Usborne stu- dents 50 minutes, Cleave asked how long those rides would be if the students ended up going to Stephen. She said the board s sce- narios "are pretty one-sided." Ash said within two years the board won t have enough money to keep all its buildings open. He said enrolment is declining and funding is based on the number of students in a building. He said regulations are mandated by the province. He said the scenarios provided weren t done with malicious intent, but they reflected the reality of the situation. "We have to balance our books, folks." He said he understands parents don t want the school to close, but board staffers are sim- ply trying to meet the provincial guidelines they have to follow. School board business superintendent Janet Baird -Jackson said it s not just schools that are closing churches and municipalities are also amalgamating. Ash said there are probably only two or three boards in the province not experiencing declining enrolment. ARC member David Frayne said Usborne is "a better facility" than Exeter and said stu- dents are receiving a quality education there Judith Parker, also an ARC member, said the province is driving people to move into urban centres, "And I don t think that s ac- ceptable." She pointed out 24 new schools are going to be built in the 905 area. "Why do we suffer in a rural community so that 24 new schools can be built in urban areas?" South Huron school board trustee Randy Wagler, who also sits on the ARC, said none of the trustees want to see schools close. He said their goal is to provide the best education possible. He added any scenarios involving Usborne s future have to work fiscally and that if the board thought there were viable scenarios, it would have come up with them. The ARC s next meeting is scheduled for Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. at the school. Future meet- ings are planned for Jan. 14 and Feb. 25. All meetings are public. Fundraiser to benefit Exeter toddler harmed in accident By Ben Forrest TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF EXETER A fundraiser will be held Nov. 29 to benefit Reagan Robinson, an Exeter toddler who suffered severe burns in an accident during the summer. Robinson, the 19 -month-old son of Ex- eter couple Brad and Katrina Robinson, was on a beach between Grand Bend and Bayfield in late August when he found a pile of ashes left over from a fire, Katrina said. He tripped and fell hands -first into the ash, suffering third-degree burns to his hands and arms, and second- and first- degree burns to his belly, legs and feet. Initially we rushed him to the Exeter hospital, where they did the basic treat- ment and stabilized him," Katrina ex- plained. Then he was sent to London Health Sciences Centre to the PCCU the Pediatric Critical Care Trauma Unit. He remained in hospital for a month and was in a drug-induced coma for roughly two weeks. If he were to show any signs of wak- ing up or pain, they would give him more [sedative], Katrina said. Skin grafts were applied to Reagan's hands, and two surgeries were completed shortly after the accident. Reagan still sees a physiotherapist regularly and completes regular exercises to stretch the skin on his hands. The purpose of this stretching is to en- sure Reagan keeps the mobility in his joints and to minimize the trouble he endures as he grows up. Scar tissue doesn t grow anymore, so [we're] just trying to keep it to its max ca- pacity so that through the years they won t have to do as much surgery as he grows, said Brad. He added Reagan will require further surgeries until he is fully grown, though the Robinsons don't know when the sur- geries will need to take place. More skin might need to be added as Reagan's hands stretch and grow. Katrina praised the staff at London Health Sciences Centre during an inter- view last week, saying they go above and beyond what she thinks their duty is. I made friends there with nurses and doctors, physiotherapists, she added. They're more like family than doctors and nurses. The Robinsons are also heartened by the response of the community, including more than 20 service groups contributing to a fundraiser for Reagan in Parkhill on Nov. 29. A dinner, dance and auction will be held that date at the North Middlesex (Parkhill) Community Centre with funds going to a trust fund that will help pay for further care for Reagan. You really don't know or understand the generosity there actually is in a com- munity until this really happens to you, Katrina said. That's one of the things Brad and I were overwhelmed with people's generosity and willingness to help. Those wishing to buy a ticket to the Nov. 29 fundraiser or to donate to the cause can do so by calling the Parkh- ill Legion at 519-294-6261 or Parkhill Lion s Club president Brian Gunnesss at 519-294-6825. rst,4k co4atc&@Pus,Ckt,skww1. Leans Community care Shown here from left to right are: Jordon, Brad, Katrina and Reagan Robinson of Exeter. Reagan, 19 months old, was burned severely after an incident this summer.A fundraiser will be held for him in Parkhill late this month to establish a trust fund that will be used for future medical -related expenses. (Photo/Ben Forrest) PRICE FvIATC H WE WILL GLADLY MATCH ANY VERIFIED ADVERTISED LOCAL COMPETITOR'S PRICE ON ANY CURRENT IDENTICAL IN -STOCK ITEM. ((,-- hardware '(;SOURCE flj 7:57: TRAILER SALES (ASK MANAGER FOR DETAILS) 1 10 MAIN ST. N. EXETER, ONT. 519-235-0800 ONLY s5 e following locations: Valid only at the Exeter McDonalds - 261 Main St. N. Goderich McDonalds - 354 Bayfield Road & Goderich Wal-Mart. Filet -o -Fish not available at Wal -mart location. Offer valid for a limited time only. Applicable taxes may apply. No coupon necessary.