WILLIAMSTOWN, Ontario – Minister of Education Mitzie Hunter took a tour of four schools in Cornwall and SD&G. Under the Upper Canada School Board’s (UCDSB) Pupil Accommodation Review, all four school could eventually be closed, pending Ministry funding.
“I’m here today to listen to the students, parents and the community,” Hunter told the media after her tour of Char-Lan District High School.
When asked what she thought of the school, Hunter praised what she saw as passion for the school and said that the UCDSB was seeking to promote a strong learning curriculum for the 21st century.
“Schools are the heart of a rural community and I understand that,” she said. “I see a lot of passion for learning here and the focus of the school board and teachers is to prepare students for 21st century learning.”
Char-Lan DHS could be closed by July 2017 if the UCDSB’s Pupil Accommodation Review (PAR) is carried out. One reason cited by the school board was a change in funding from the Ministry of Education.
Minister Hunter said that Provincial funding for rural schools has in fact grown over the past few years.
“As far as funding from the Province for schools goes we have invested $3.7 billion in 2016-2017,” she said. “Since 2013 our investment in rural schools has increased.”
Other SD&G and Cornwall schools that Hunter visited on her tour included Long Sault Public School, CCVS, Glengarry District High School and the tour ended and Char-Lan DHS.
The UCDSB plans on closing Char-Lan at the end of June 2017 and sending those students 30 minutes away to Cornwall to CCVS.
The plan is opposed by most community members at the affected schools.
