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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.
Other documents on the Trustee Ellis' motion are listed below:
Hybrid 3B Configuration (43.42 kB)
Hybrid 3B boundary numbers revised & busing (14.54 kB)
Hybrid 3B Boundary Maps (789.12 kB) 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.
Join the discussion board and share your thoughts at www.myoakville.org
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.
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