Sent to you by nigel via Google Reader:
By Natalie Alcoba, National Post
The chair of Toronto's public school board says he will use his second term to push a controversial plan to close small schools in order to build new ones, and win over unhappy parents.
John Campbell, a five-year Etobicoke trustee who was acclaimed on Tuesday in his bid for reelection, said he is bracing for opposition from parents who cling to the "romantic" notion of a neighbourhood school. But he said too many buildings are sitting half empty and sucking the Toronto District School Board dry of cash.
An inventory of schools released in June showed 92 of 533 public schools in Toronto have an enrollment of less than 60% (see chart after the jump). Before it recessed for the summer, the board approved a plan that set a target size of 450 students in consolidated elementary schools, and 1,200 at the high school level. The plan also recommends phasing out middle schools. The TDSB has long suffered from declining enrollment; it loses about 4,000 students every year.
"What parents have to understand is that what we're trying to do is enable schools that have larger student populations and more programming options, and also cut down on costs so that we can afford to reinvest in better schools, and build new libraries and gymnasiums and additions to schools," Mr. Campbell said in an interview on Tuesday. The under enrolled secondary schools, some with only 300 students, can hardly offer a variety of programs, he said; many don't have basketball teams, there is no music teacher or Latin class.
"It all sounds very logical, the problem is when emotions get into play, tempers get frayed and people get a little irrational."
Those sentiments are already playing out in places like Oakville, the scene of a bitter battle over whether or not to close four schools so that a new one can be built. It has pitted parents against parents, neighbourhood against neighbourhood, and now the provincial government has stepped in to ensure local trustees followed the rules when they decided to shutter four schools.
Mr. Campbell expects parents to dig in their heels in support of neighbourhood schools in Toronto, too.
"It's not easy to get parents happy about the idea of closing schools, particularly if it's your own child's school," said Annie Kidder, executive director of People for Education.
"If you can offer parents something that is much better, there may be a way of getting parents on board."
She said enrolment is declining across the province, and there is no question that some schools will have to close in Toronto.
"To think it's not going to be controversial is maybe being a bit too optimistic," said Ms. Kidder, who is focusing her attention on how it will be done.
In some cases, it may make more sense for a board to admit up front that a particular school must close, and then invite parents to help brainstorm what they would like to see in its place. There are also other ways to deal with excess space, Ms. Kidder said, like the approach favoured by Toronto-Danforth trustee Cathy Dandy, who says schools could become hubs that house a range of other services.
At the end of the day, however, Mr. Campbell said the board has to sell property to be able to afford the kind of state-of-the-art schools that are sprouting up in
places like York Region, where enrolment is on the rise.
The process is a long one — it's unlikely the TDSB will shutter 15 or 20 schools in one fell swoop.
But if things go according to plan, Mr. Campbell would like to see the first one or two properties to close in the next year or two.
"It will be incumbent upon us to win the support of local communities and convince them that their students will be far better off in new learning environments."
Things you can do from here:
- Subscribe to Posted Toronto using Google Reader
- Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites
No comments:
Post a Comment