Police alert community of 2 attempted child abductions
Halton Regional Police Services issues press release and sends notice home in school backpacks alerting community of two reports of attempted child abduction.
On June 10th, in the morning, a 9 year old Oakville girl was walking to the school bus stop near Dundas and Third line when a man walk up to her and asked, where she was going, where she lived and then asked for her name. She knew not to speak to strangers and ran to the bus stop.
On June 11th, around 3:30pm, a 12 year old Oakville girl was riding her bike on Devon Road, when an older model green minivan approached her. The driver then asked the girl if she wanted him to pick her bike up and drive her home. She declined and continue to ride home.
The full press release, description of the man, and important safety precautions can be found at www.hrps.on.ca
What are the differences between Trustee Ellis' motion of July 2nd, 2008 and Trustee Ellis' motion of June 17, 2009
On the surface the two motions put forward by Trustee Ellis seem very different, but take a closer look and you might be surprised how it appears to simply by the July 2nd decision sugar coated to delay the closure of New Central until the next eligible window for a school closure (5 years). Ministry appointed Facilitator David Cooke, made it clear that the July 2nd, 2008 decision should not stand.
Why do we believe this decision takes us a step closer to the July 2nd decision ?
The major differences are switching the program at Maple Grove and EJ James, providing a small unsustainable school at New Central with a student population within 5 years of 195. This is the critical issue, as the Board has been very clear that a sustainable school JK-6 should be 300 students. The Staff recommendation provide a much more balanced and viable solution.
The Trustees have discussed providing a theme or funding for creating a viable program at New Central, but isn't this backwards? It was clearly discussed at the Board meeting that for this option to work a significant capital contribution is required for New Central. The Trustees have not included this in the decision. Shouldn't we ensure the option is affordable and budgeted to ensure New Central is viable long term? Our concern is without a significant budget for New Central the Board will not achieve the attract-back nor stop the attrition of students and a new school closure process will commence within 5 years in SE Oakville.
What happens if we are correct?
New Central closes
Maple Grove becomes too large to support the complete population of SE Cornwall
Busing to Clearview must be used to offset the population at Maple Grove
Neither Maple Grove nor Clearview will be able to accomodate the students without additional portables.
We are seeking a sustainable, long term solution not a band-aid solution. Budgets were clearly provided and approved for the programming needs of Clearview and Maple Grove. Why not for EJ James (for the French Immersion program) and New Central to ensure a stable, viable long term solution that will encourage families to return to the HDSB.
At last night's board meeting, attended also by representatives of the Ministry of Education, the Administrative Council's recommendation for school closure and revitalization in Ward 3 Southeast Oakville accommodation was defeated by 9 votes to 2. Two days earlier, representatives of ORPE, five school councils and four residents' associations had delegated in favour of the recommendations.
After the motion failed, Trustee Ellis brought forward her recommendation, "Hybrid 3b" for discussion and a vote. After some discussion, questions, and minor amendments, the Trustees unanimously approved the motion. Trustee Ellis Recommendation for Ward 3 (1.28 MB)
Trustee Ellis' motion calls for:
JK-8 English at Maple Grove, boundaries: WInston Churchill to East side of Wedgewood, South of Cornwall.
JK-6 English at New Central, boundaries: Sixteen Mile creek to West side of Wedgewood, South of Cornwall.
1-8 French Immersion at EJ James, boundaries: Winston Churchill to Sixteen Mile Creek, South of Cornwall.
JK-8 dual track at Clearview, boundaries: Ford Drive to Winston Churchill, North of Cornwall/Royal Windsor Drive.
A major issue for the Trustees who voted against the Director's recommendations appears to have been the loss of a large site, EJ James, which they felt could provide future flexibility if HDSB student enrolment increases in the future. Director Joudrie agreed that the EJ site provided more such flexibility than the Chisholm site. Some were also concerned about the configuration at the Maple Grove -- a split between a middle school and an FI elementary program.
In discussions regarding Hybrid 3b, Director Joudrie reminded Trustees about the 2015 projected population at New Central of 195 students, indicating this could lead to programming issues in the future. He suggested that a significant capital investment in New Central will be required to ensure that the attract-back and population growth occurs and the community sees New Central as a strong, stable, viable option for SE Oakville. Some Trustees also continued to make unsettling remarks about how the FI program could fit into EJ with minimal renovation --- which is not accurate given the current state of the facility.
It is too early to tell how the community will react to the decision. Some people are disappointed or angry that the recommendation that they supported was voted down. Some people are prepared to accept the decision, but feel that the future remains uncertain, and wonder if the needed renovations and upgrades to existing facilities will actually occur. Many, many people are sad to face the reality of losing the schools that their children attend. The Board's decision has come at a significant cost to our community, beyond the obvious school closures.
The upcoming days and weeks will likely tell us if the Trustee Ellis' motion and subsequent Board decision receives broad acceptance in Ward 3 or not. The Board and our Trustee, for their part, will need to explain what this decision will really mean for the community, so that people can process the full implications and make up their own minds.
We will continue to listen to the community and do our best to articulate its hopes and concerns. We continue to work to protect the interests of students, parents and residents of Southeast Oakville. We would like to thank everyone for their support.
Monday, June 15, 2009 -- 42 groups and individuals presented delegations to Trustees of the Halton District School Board on the Admin. Council's report, 09109 before a standing room only crowd of over 100 people.
Twenty-three groups spoke in favour of the staff recommendation to close 3 schools and retain 3 schools in SE Oakville. These groups representing almost 18,000 residents, included:
Oakville Residents for Public Education
Executive of Linbrook Parent's Council
Oakville Lakeside Residents Association
EJ James Parent Council
Chartwell-Maple Grove Residents Association
Brantwood School Council
Trafalgar Chartwell Residents Association
Chisholm School Council
Joshua Creek Residents Association
New Central School Council
Many speakers spoke of supporting the recommendation on the cornerstone of the Cooke's report statement that public education is a partnership between parents, community and school board. It was every group's hope that a positive decision will move the board and community forward and build upon the outstanding educational results already demonstrated in our community.
Oakville Residents for Public Education with the support of the 4 local resident associations in SE Oakville announce support for the Halton District School Board's May 28th recommendation on school closure in SE Oakville.
The Halton Districut School Board has indicated public delegations on the Director's report for Ward 3 will be on June 15th, 2009.
Those wishing to delegate must register with Gail Gortmaker,
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
, before Wednesday June 10th at noon. A written submission of your delegation must be supplied by noon Thursday June 11th.
We continue to support the Director's recommendation as it meets the majority of the main themes from the survey:
Minimized busing, in particular no busing before Grade 9 across Royal Windsor Drive / Cornwall Road.
Keep 3 schools south of Cornwall/Royal Windsor Drive.
One (1) of those 3 schools be designated single track French Immersion and preferrably Grades 1 to 6.
Geographic balance south of Cornwall/RoyalWindsor Drive with one (1) school in each area: East, Central and West.
Grade's 7 &8 clustered together in sufficient numbers to provide greater depth of program.
All schools that remain open to be upgraded/renovated and resourced equally.
Decided preference for walk-to schools.
The issue of geographic balance was brought up by the Trustees at the June 3rd board meeting. We believe the recommendation is consistent with geographic balance, when you consider the distribution of students south of Cornwall. Most students in Ward 3 will have a walk-to school for part of their education.
Chisholm area -- walk to for Grades JK-6 Maple Grove area -- walk to for Grades 7-12 English, walk to for French Immersion Grades 1-12
Board proposes New Central, Maple Grove & Chisholm schools for SE Oakville
Friday May 29th, 2009, the Halton District School Board releases, what we hope is the final report on school accommodation (closure) issues in SE Oakville (Ward 3).
We are encouraged by the Board staff's decision to provide a report that provides optimal educational programming, is equitable for all communities within Ward 3 and a basis for investment and infrastructure in our community. This has been a complex and difficult issue for both the school board and community and now, there is an opportunity to begin moving forward towards a successful conclusion. A detailed analysis will follow shortly.
The Board is proposing to renovate and upgrade 3 schools in the community and close an additional 3 elementary schools. The renovations / refurbishments are expected to be completed for September 2010, which coincides with the opening of the new Clearview dual track school forecast with a population of 436 in 2010.
Chisholm: JK - 6 English, 338 students in 2010
Maple Grove: JK-8 French Immersion; 7/8 English, 585 students in 2010
New Central: JK-6 English, 300 students in 2010
To be closed and sold: Linbrook, Brantwood and EJ James.
The recommendation follows many of the recommendations of the Cooke report, including, "the plan should result in as few students being bussed as possible". The recommendation reduces bussing by almost 40%. This also provides maximum opportunity for walk-to schools and access to after-school program or co-curricular programming.
The report will be presented to the Trustees on Wednesday June 3rd with a decision on Wednesday June 17th. There are two opportunities for community input. Director Joudrie will be holding a public meeting at Oakville Trafalgar High School on Thursday June 18th at 7:00pm in the library and delegations before the Trustees will occur on Monday June 15th at the Board offices.
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Trustee Ellis Recommendation for Ward 3 (
in Schools by Majority rules, 30-06-09 15:09
