CORNWALL, Ontario – The final Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB) Accommodation Review Committee (ARC) Public Consultation meeting will be held this evening in support of Char-Lan District High School.
Doors will open to the public at 6:00 p.m., and the meeting will be held at the former General Vanier Intermediate School. Char-Lan is one of several SD&G schools facing threat of closure, which would displace rural students, forcing them to make a 30 minute commute into Cornwall for school.
Presentations will take place throughout the evening with a focus on the importance of preserving the area’s rural schools. The final vote will take place on March 23, so this is the Char-Lan’s last call to action to help spare the school from closure. The first news of closures came in early September when the Upper Canada District School Board released a report stating that the closure of Char-Lan and other schools across the board would lead to a $2 million increase in the board’s budget.
Proposed solutions to the closure would be relocating students from S.J. McCleod into Williamstown Public School, as well as Char-Lan District High School being merged into one Williamstown K to 12 campus.
The school urges members to come out and show their support, with a bus leaving from the Glengarry Sports Palace parking lot at 5:00 p.m.
Those planning to attend are encouraged to show up early to secure a seat.