Peggy Revell
Emo council has thrown its support behind keeping a school within its township.
In a letter written to the Donald Young School Pupil Accommodation Review committee, Emo Mayor Vincent Sheppard stated Emo council shows “strong support” for rebuilding Donald Young School there.
“[DYS] is a very important entity in our community, and we respectfully urge the accommodation review to consider [the] resources we have to offer to preserve a public school in Emo,” said the letter, which was read last Thursday evening at the first of four public meetings being held by the review committee to gather feedback as it weighs the future of the school.
Mayor Sheppard’s letter was the only public submission made at the meeting, which drew more than 20 community members.
DYS has been “a drawing card and provides economic value to the community,” the letter stated, noting the township has not seen a decrease in population over the past 30 years.
As well, Emo is growing—with a 70-lot subdivision within the village approved by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing earlier this year and a 28-lot rural subdivision in the design stage.
Most recently, at its Nov. 29 meeting, Emo council unanimously passed a resolution to provide DYS with additional playground property directly east of the school across the creek (on the former OPP property).
The township currently is working with an engineering firm to design walk bridges across the creek in two areas for the completion of a walking trail—with one bridge possibly located next to the DYS property to access the “approximate two acres” of green space.
“This area could accommodate baseball, soccer, or other organized sports and activities,” Mayor Sheppard wrote.
“The Emo municipal council strongly feels that this would be the best choice for this property and wish to relay this to the Rainy River District School Board,” he added.
The letter also noted the Emo Toy Library Resource Centre and “Best Start” Hub would be willing to utilize part of DYS if it was rebuilt, and pointed to the wide range of facilities—the Emo curling rink, arena, Lions Park, spray park, tennis courts, and sports field—which the council supports DYS access to.
The pupil accommodation review follows the Ministry of Education’s move in 2003 to hire an independent firm, whose task was to inspect and assess the physical condition and capacity of every single school in this province, Casey Slack, superintendent of education for the Rainy River District School Board, said during Thursday’s meeting.
DYS subsequently was classified as “prohibitive to repair”—meaning that replacing the building is more economical than renovating it.
This past June, the board passed a resolution to conduct a pupil accommodation review on DYS, Sturgeon Creek School, and Crossroads School consecutively.
“It’s important to recognize that this committee will explore a variety of options and alternatives and solutions through our very comprehensive process,” Slack remarked.
“The possibilities range from building a new school, renovating the existing [school], school closure, and consolidation,” he explained.
“It could be rebuilt on the current site, or a completely new and different site could be chosen.”
Once the review is completed, the committee’s report and recommendations will be forwarded to the director of education for review by senior administration, with a final report to be presented to trustees at their June, 2012 meeting.
One of the key components of the review will be the building of a “school information profile.”
“[This] is a tool that we use to collect clear data [for] informed decision-making,” noted committee chair Anne Marie Vanderaa, who also is a representative from the Emo community.
The committee has customized this profile during its previous two orientation sessions. Over the coming months, the information contained in the profile will be augmented and updated by the committee and through the public consultation meetings.
The profile looks at four “distinct” categories.
“The first category is the value to the student,” said Vanderaa.
“We look at quality of the
learning environment, student outcomes at the school, the range of courses and programs offered, adequacy of student space to support learning, adequacy of school grounds for healthy physical activity and extra-curricular activities, [and] accessibility of the school to students with disabilities.”
This category, she noted, is the most important one and will have the most impact on the committee’s final decision.
The second category is “value to the system,” which Vanderaa said will look at the condition and location of the school, fiscal and operational factors, and availability of teaching spaces.
Laura Mills, the board’s superintendent of business, outlined the financial status of DYS at last Thursday’s meeting.
“What we do is look at the funding sources the school has for its operations, and everything to do with funding for schools and school boards has to do with enrolment that the school generates,” Mills explained.
She noted that the combined income of per pupil students grants, as well as the tuition paid by local First Nation communities, equals just over $1.6 million coming into the school.
When costs for DYS are calculated—such as staffing, administration, and plant operations—in the end it’s “more or less break even,” Mills said, with an approximate deficit of just $9,000.
There would be savings if DYS was closed, she noted, because funds wouldn’t have to go into renovations or repairing the school.
Currently, the board is working on a review of what closing/not closing the school would cost when it comes to “complete operations,” and sending the students to other schools, added Mills.
And the way it’s looking right now is that it would be about the same, with it “more or less” breaking even either way, she noted.
The third factor for the school profile is “value to the community,” said Vanderaa, which will look at how the school is used within the community, programs and services offered, the green space it offers, and how it partners with other organizations in the community.
The fourth factor is “value to the local economy”— such as looking at the school as a local employer, availability of training opportunities and partnerships with businesses, and attracting families to the community.
For both of these categories, the committee agreed at last Thursday’s meeting that it will be actively seeking out input and comments from local council, businesses, and companies to get feedback for the profile.
As part of the process, the board’s website (www.rrdsb.com) will be kept up to date constantly with information on the review, including meeting minutes, schedules, and answers to questions the public has asked about the review.
Throughout the process, there are two ways in which the public can participate.
People or groups can make a presentation at one of the upcoming public meetings, with those interested asked to submit a request either by fax or e-mail to Kathy Zatulsky two weeks in advance of a meeting.
Written submissions also are being accepted.
The final three public consultation meetings are slated for Jan. 12, Feb. 9, and March 7 from 7-9 p.m. at DYS.
