Last chance rally for R-O

Nick Seebruch
Last chance rally for R-O
South Stormont Mayor Jim Bancroft tells R-O students not to give up (Nick Seebruch/ TC Media).

INGLESIDE, Ontario – Parents and students of Rothwell-Osnabruk K-12 school gathered across the street from the schools parking lot to rally and show their desire to save their secondary school program is still strong.

South Stormont Mayor Jim Bancroft spoke to the crowd and explained that the fight will continue.

“I want to emphasize to the students, the parents, the friends that this is not over, not over by a long shot,” he said.

He pointed out that on May 21, their request for an appeal was successful and that a government appointed facilitator will be coming to Ingleside to assess the situation, but he cautioned that this did not guarantee success.

“Niagra Falls, Lincoln County tried everything they could and they are still losing three schools,” said Bancroft.

In a close decision, the Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB) voted in March to close the secondary school program at R-O and send those students to Tagwi Secondary School in Avonmore.

The school board also re-drew the boundary map in South Stormont so that in future only students from Ingleside would be sent to R-O, which casts doubt on the school’s future ability to sustain itself.

During the Accommodation Review Committee (ARC) process, parents and supporters of the school formulated a plan to fill empty spaces at R-O, which included re-introducing French Immersion, but that plan was rejected.

“I felt like the chairman of that committee made up his  mind a long time ago on R-O,” said Bancroft. “It wasn’t about the students and it wasn’t about the empty spaces, it was a political decision.”

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