June 19,2009

 

CMGRA and friends:

 After a long and often bitter process, the Halton District School Board has reached a decision.  The details are outlined below.  The CMGRA had decided to support the original hybrid proposal, as it met the criteria of retaining 3 schools below Cornwall, and broad community support for this concept was required, according to the majority of communications received from members.  In the final decision, the retention of E.J.James is a positive move for our neighbourhood.  Unfortunately, not everyone will be happy with this decision, or any decision the board would have made for that matter.  It is hoped that the Ward 3 community can now move forward and work together to ensure the remaining schools provide the best possible learning environment for our children.

 

Thanks to all of you who provided your input on this issue.

Dani Morawetz

CMGRA

 

 

From: My Oakville [mailto: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ]
Sent: June 19, 2009 8:09 AM
To: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Subject: Ward 3 school closure decision: Trustee Ellis' motion for Hybrid 3b is approved 

 

Click here for summary from MyOakville 

---

 

On Friday, May 29, 2009, the Halton District School Board released its recommendations to resolve program accommodation (school closure) issues in Ward 3.  In addition to a school in Clearview (JK-8 dual track) to serve the students of that community, the Board recommended retaining three schools in SE Oakville:

• Chisholm:  JK - 6 English
• Maple Grove: 1-8 French Immersion; 7/8 English
• New Central:  JK-6 English

The Board also released its timeline for public consultation and decision-making: 

• June 3rd: Report presented to Trustees at regular board meeting
• June 4th:  Public Meeting at OT High School, 7:00pm in the cafeteria
• June 15th: Delegation evening at the Board
• June 17th: Trustees to consider the recommendations and vote 

Oakville Residents for Public Education (O.R.P.E.) is issuing a press release expressing support for the recommendations and commending the Board's staff for crafting a solution for all of Ward 3, from Clearview to the Lake. The Board's recommendations are educationally sound, recognize the values of community, and meet Ministry of Education policy.

The recommendations are geographically balanced, thus reducing the need for student bussing by almost one third. This is good for the community, the Board's finances and the environment.

Residents of SE Oakville will be concerned about the decision to close 3 of the elementary schools south of Cornwall Road, including Brantwood, Linbrook and EJ James. The recommendations provide a solid foundation for public education in the community, retains geographic balance, maintains single track French Immersion and provides flexibility for future growth.

The community will be looking to the Town of Oakville to step in to preserve community green spaces and facilities when the Board disposes of surplus properties.

The Trustees have been urged to follow the lead of the Administrative Council, and create a true partnership between the Ward 3 community and Board. This proposed solution will allow the Ward 3 community to move forward in a positive direction. 

The following information was distributed by the Lakeside RA.

• David Cook who had been appointed as the administrative reviewer by the ministry as a result of the appeal, delivered his report in early December and it summarized that the Halton District School Board(HDSB) did not follow it’s own process, he indicated there should be a new smaller process and that it should include a school in Clearview as well as providing for as minimal bussing of students as possible.

• The HDSB subsequently voted to suspend it’s earlier school closure decision and resolved to build a school in Clearview and develop a new community consultation process for accommodation in Ward 3

• HDSB developed the new process, which many felt did not provide for adequate community input. There were several delegations to an HDSB meeting, including one by TCRA, OLRA and JCRA residents associations asking for input into the new process, which were rejected by the board.

• The new process was presented by Wayne Joudrie, Director of education for HDSB at a public meeting on February 26th. The basis of the new process to get community input was to be a survey of residents followed by focus groups to review options that were put forward by HDSB and to allow discussion on other alternative options.

• Survey’s which asked residents to rate the six options presented by HDSB and provide other suggestions, were distributed only to parents of children within the schools and not to other tax paying residents of Ward 3 – simply posted to the HDSB website for download. The surveys were to be completed and submitted to the schools by Friday March 13th Again, your board has been active during these events, we strongly believe that walk-to public schools are a vital part of the character of our community.

• We took part in a delegation to HDSB advocating community input to the definition of the new process, which the board regrettably rejected. Public education, as David Cooke re-iterated many times in his report, is a partnership; a partnership between the community, parents, students, staff and the elected board. The Trustees approved a consultation process that did not stand up to the best spirit of the report.

• We sent out our first ever e-mail notification to notify and encourage residents to attend the HDSB presentation of the new process. (please send an e-mail to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it asking to be included in future emails if you would like to be included)

• We feel strongly that ALL TAX-PAYING RESIDENTS should be provided with the opportunity to supply feedback to the board not only parents of children in the public schools, to that end we arranged a flyer drop and pick-up in our area that resulted in 76 additional surveys being completed that otherwise likely would not have. We are now waiting on the next steps from the HDSB and the formation of the focus groups.

The Survey Options:
• A1: Two dual-track JK-Grade 8 schools (Clearview and New Central) and one English single-track
JKGrade 8 school (Maple Grove).
• A2: Two dual-track JK-Grade 8 schools (Clearview and Linbrook) and one English single-track JKGrade 8
school (Maple Grove).
• B1: Two English single-track JK-Grade 8 schools (Clearview and E. J. James) and one French immersion
single-track Grades 1-8 school (Maple Grove).
• B2: Two English single-track JK-Grade 8 schools (Clearview and Maple Grove) and one French immersion
single-track Grades 1-8 school (E. J. James).
• C1: One dual-track JK-Grade 8 school (Clearview), two English single-track JK-Grade 8 schools (Maple
Grove and New Central) and one single-track French immersion Grade 1-8 school (E. J. James).
• C2: One dual-track JK-Grade 8 school (Clearview), two English single-track JK-Grade 8 schools (Maple
Grove and Linbrook) and one French immersion single-track Grade 1-8 school (E. J. James).

We are concerned that the B options are those that the board previously supported that were soundly rejected by our community; it is a wonder they are still on the table. It is also concerning that some trustees have openly declared they could not support either of the C options, even prior to the survey being distributed and we sincerely hope that the board is not simply using this survey to
appease ward3 residents. Of the options presented our preference is option C1 as this provides for minimal bussing of students in all areas and accommodates our need for a walk-to school within reach of our OLRA area. An alternative would be to select Brantwood rather than New Central for this option.

If you did not get a chance to complete a survey and would have liked to, we encourage you to contact director Wayne Joudrie and the board Trustees to provide your preferred options and any other comments.

Wayne Joudrie - Director of Education (HDSB) - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Phillipa Ellis - Ward 3 HDSB Trustee (ward 3) - (905) 842-3837 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Bruce Jones - 2009 Chair - DSB (wards 5&6) - (905) 257-5926 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Other Trustee contact information can be found at www.hdsb.ca www.hdsb.ca