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2 - The Oakville Beaver, Friday February 20, 2009 www.oakvillebeaver.com Six school accommodation options in southeast Oakville By Tina Depko OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF The Halton District School Board has unveiled six accommodation alternatives for the upcoming community consultation process for elementary public schools in southeast Oakville. The alternatives include: · 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 DAYS NUMBERED: None of the six elementary school accommodation options for southeast Oakville presented by the Halton District School Board Wednesday night, included keeping Chisholm Public School open. Declining student numbers are immersion single-track Grade 1-8 before releasing them to the public, creating accommodation issues in school (E. J. James). taking into consideration that the the area, with the enrolment projecThese options are not set in stone, choices were educationally sound, tion for 2010 at 1,661 students. according to Wayne Joudrie, director financially responsible and would There are currently 852 students of education. have political and community supwho qualify for bussing. "Having done community consul- port, according to Joudrie. Joudrie said for alternatives A1/2 tations and accommodation-related Included in the report are enroland C1/2, the school board prefers consultations in the past, usually ment predictions for 2010 and 2015, the options that will keep New what you start with or end with is a number of students bussed, estimatCentral, which sits on five acres of little different," he said. "Somebody ed costs of renovations and building land and is centrally located. The comes along with a hybrid or the new school in Clearview, as well next best school is Linbrook, due to improvement or a better idea, and as projected revenue from the sale of factors like its location and layout, builds on the ideas on the page. What the schools that will be closed. he said. we have here would be for public Alternative B2 was added on "Our preference is New Central, consideration... it is highly likely Wednesday night, so there have not in terms of balance, but if we couldthat some variation or hybrid will be been any calculations on that option. n't make it happen, then the next the final recommendation coming Currently, the board has six school over to the east would be forward to the board." schools in southeast Oakville, includLinbrook," he said. An outside party, Watson and ing New Central, Brantwood, E. J. Chisholm is not kept open in any Associates, Ltd., developed the alter- James, Maple Grove, Linbrook and of the five scenarios due to its small natives. Board staff reviewed them Chisholm. size. "The challenge at Chisholm is it is about a three and change (acre) site," he said. "We don't believe we could put a 400 or 450 sized school on that lot." The school board is favouring options that result in JK-Grade 8 dy-datejust gold schools with an enrolment of 450 or higher. This creates optimal learning environments, Joudrie said. "We reviewed educational issues and if it was educationally sound, and from that piece, we commented around our preference for a model that is JK-8, and in a JK-8, to have an appropriate size with two classrooms per grade, it comes out to 450 students...," he said. "The reason for that is the ability of teachers to team teach, the ability for options for students in terms of class placements, and the size actually generates additional supports within the school for things like a special education resource teacher, teacherlibrarian, vice-principals and so forth.... "We did consider JK-6 as part of our alternatives, but we're not recommending any JK-6 alternatives. Proudly supporting Our experience is that any time you Canadian Manufacturers have a transition, there is usually a drop off in student performance." Options C1 and C2 result in several schools with student enrolment projections that are lower than 450. 217 Lakeshore Road East Joudrie said these alternatives were put forward in response to the Downtown Oakville Since 1953 community's request to have three schools south of Cornwall Street. www.swissinteriors.com "With what we experienced 4 Floors of Furniture Genuine Leather · Sofas · Sectionals · Loveseats · Chairs & Recliners 905.844.3530 around PARC 14 and concerns expressed by a number of individuals in the community, certainly reflected in the facilitator's report, a model that has more students be able to walk to school is something we should at least consider," he said. "As a result, the C1 and 2 model has three schools below Cornwall. The numbers don't hit the 450 that I talked about in terms of that ideal minimum, but it certainly would move us along the spectrum towards a more positive learning environment." Ward 3 Oakville trustee Phillippa Ellis said she would not support an alternative that resulted in such numbers. "Personally, I will not compromise education for popularity," Ellis said. "I think we have to make some statements about what is good educationally.... I've constantly been told by principals within the ward and outside the ward that JK-8 of anything less than 400 is problematic for a number of reasons." Wards 1 and 2 Burlington trustee Mary-Elizabeth Dilly also said she would not back alternatives C1 and C2. "I'm going to do what's right for the children, I'm not going to do what makes the politicians happy," she said. Option C2 is also the only alternative that is expected to cost more money than the sale of excess properties would raise. This shortfall is estimated to be approximately $850,000. The announcements of the accommodation alternatives means the community consultation process is ready to start. Informing the public of the consultation process is the first step. This will be achieved by mailing public school parents in Ward 3 a copy of the consultation process, including timelines, input process, proposed alternative accommodation options and background information. A copy of this information will be posted on the HDSB board website for broader public access. A community meeting is also scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. in the cafeteria of Oakville Trafalgar High School, 1460 Devon Rd. This meeting will provide parents/guardians and members of the public with an explanation of the community consultation process approved by trustees, including an outline of the process, a presentation of proposed alternatives and background information. A final decision on the issue is expected in June. The full report on the proposed accommodation alternatives is available at www.haltondsb.on.ca/BoardroomTr ustees/Pages/BoardAgendaMinutes. aspx under the Feb. 18 meeting agenda link.