|
Bluewater school board votes to keep Elgin Market school open in Kincardine By Liz Dadson |
Education To Comment on this article Click Here |
||||
|
Prompted by passionate pleas to keep Elgin Market Public School in Kincardine open, the Bluewater District School Board has voted in favour of it becoming a stand-alone French Immersion school. At the regular meeting last night (Nov. 1) in Chesley, the board heard from Jim Thorpe of the Kincardine-Port Elgin Accommodation Review Committee (ARC), urging support for the three-school option. This would see Elgin Market become a French Immersion school, Kincardine Township-Tiverton Public School (KTTPS) become a Junior Kindergarten (JK) to Grade 3 school for the English stream, and Huron Heights Public School continue as a Grades 4-8 school for the English stream. It would also allow Kincardine District Secondary School (KDSS) and Saugeen District Secondary School (SDSS) in Port Elgin to remain open in their respective communities. Thorpe said the ARC heard extensive public consultation from community members, businesses, municipal representatives, parents, students and staff. Parents affected by the changes at Elgin Market were polled, said Thorpe, and the majority was in favour of it becoming a French Immersion school. The other option, put forward by the ARC, was to turn KTTPS into a dual-track school for JK to Grade 3, and Huron Heights into a dual-track school for Grades 4-8. Thorpe stressed that there is no guarantee, with the new Ontario Liberal minority government, that there will be funding for capital requirements for all-day Kindergarten at KTTPS. This makes the three-school option cheaper, capital-wise, he said. "The ARC chairman, Richard Yun, said it most eloquently: We have too many students for two school, but not enough for three schools," said Thorpe. "I urge you to vote for one of the two options recommended to you tonight. They were put together by the community for the community." Speaking to another issue, Heather Padfield of the KDSS Home and School Association, and Gail Walden of the KDSS School Community Council, urged the board to make a formal motion to consider a new high school for Kincardine. "The KDSS building is in bad shape," said Walden. "It needs new doors, windows, floors, gym, and a new roof. Eighty-per-cent of the lockers need replacing, and the washrooms are in poor shape." She asked the board to formalize this request for a new high school so the proposal is no longer just an idea but a real vision for the future of education in Kincardine. Cheryl Diffin, a parent and part-time teacher at Elgin Market, has two children in French Immersion in the Kincardine schools. She noted that her eldest child is in the lead class for French Immersion and suggested the board not make Elgin Market a French Immersion school because that would segregate students from their peers in the English stream. Currently, all students enjoy activities together and staff is able to work together on curriculum and programs. Trustee Jan Johnstone, who represents Kincardine and Huron-Kinloss, spoke in favour of the three-school option, noting that enrolment projections for this area are actually increasing, not decreasing. Elgin Market saw an enrolment of 226.5 students, compared to the projected number of 221; and KTTPS is at 211, up from the projected 204, she said. Trustee Kevin Larson, who represents Saugeen Shores, echoed the sentiment that enrolment is projected to increase in the Kincardine area by 2019.
|
 Trustee Jan Johnstone "Also, what kind of reputation are we going to earn if we close Elgin Market and then have to build on to the remaining two schools or add portables?" he asked. "It's ironic that we would close the very school that triggered the ARC to begin with because it was too full!" In a recorded vote, the three-school option was approved, 8-3. Johnstone, Larson, vice-chairman John Chapman, Terry Bell, Marilyn McComb, Theresa Root, Anthony Pedoniquotte, and Fran Morgan all voted in favour, while chairperson Marg Gaviller, Jim Dawson and Dan Wong voted against. In a separate motion, the board voted unanimously in favour of exploring partnerships with the Municipality of Kincardine, local businesses and community groups, to turn the vision of a new high school in Kincardine, into a reality in the future. Scrolling stops when you move your mouse inside the scroll area. You can click on the ads for more
|
||||
|
 for
world news,
books, sports, movies ...Tuesday, November 01, 2011 |
