CORNWALL, Ontario – The second Accommodation Review Committee (ARC) public meeting was held at the former General Vanier Intermediate School on Monday, Jan. 23 to discuss the proposed school closures. For the first time, statements from the audience were allowed.
Ten delegations came forward to discuss issues such as busing, boundaries, and the importance of rural schools. If the proposals are passed, the consequences may also have a grave impact on students’ overall well being.
“It is desirable for medical and psychological reasons to minimize the length of school bus travel for young people – their time is valuable, and the value of their time must be recognized and appreciated,” said Dr. Anna Williams.
The presentations focused heavily on the importance of community involvement, and how relocation could severely affect opportunities.
Tagwi Secondary School students, Ayeisha Khan and Brooklyn Woodside discussed that while their school was not under threat of school closure, roughly a third of Tagwi’s students are slotted to be redirected in September. This would mean not only mean longer bus rides, but also limited ability to participate in extracurricular activities, and being at a disadvantage for scholarships and bursaries.
“Tagwi is part of the solution, not the problem,” said Woodside.
The Township of North Glengarry’s Jeff Manley and Brian Cadell described a community headed in the direction of extreme growth, and how the proposed closures do not align with this vision.
“Our planning department has already received dozens of applications for new build projects in Alexandria,” said Manley, who is a Councillor in North Glengarry. “Growth in North Glengarry is going to happen. In my mind, there is only one piece of the puzzle missing, and that is the status of our North Glengarry public schools.
In 2016, the township collected 1.5 million dollars in education taxes for the Upper Canada District School Board. Manley urged people to consider this number in respect to the proposed closures. “We have to do better than that,” said Manley. “We need public schools in our two largest communities, and we need to work together. Growth in North Glengarry is growth for the Upper Canada District School Board.”
Brian Caddell described the proposal as “a political excuse for a policy aimed directly at saving money for the province.” Caddell described that his pursuit of a career in teaching stemmed from his innate desire to help others. “I can hardly express how deeply saddened I am today that the organization which I joined to help young people get a good start in their lives in now the very organization that puts money first and people second,” said Caddell.
“When you get to answers like ‘we’re not going to have a high school for a whole municipality,’ or ‘we’re going to close high-performing, full schools’ – I can’t politely figure out how that makes any sense,” said Jason Crites of the Township of South Stormont. “The ministry works for us, not the other way around.”
