Heather Latter
But puts off
building for
three years
The Donald Young School Pupil Accommodation Review committee last night submitted its recommendation to the Rainy River District School Board regarding the future of the Emo school.
Weighing the value to the students as the highest consideration, and after lengthy discussion over the advantages and disadvantages of each option for the school, the committee unanimously recommended the board “build a new school on the current site of Donald Young School, with consideration given to future enrolment due to the mining industry and to consolidation with other schools.”
But they suggested postponing the building of the school for three years to allow time for consideration of community partnerships, as well as to be open for a consolidation of another school, such as Sturgeon Creek in Barwick and/or Crossroads in Devlin.
Those schools are set to undergo similar Pupil Accommodation Reviews in the near future.
The process of the review included the committee hearing input from community residents at four public consultations, with a total of 275 people attending the meetings.
The committee also gathered feedback from the community through the 10 letters and feedback forms it received, which offered another method for the public to pose questions and comments.
While determining a recommendation for the school, the committee took into consideration the value to the student, value to the system, value to the community, and value to the local economy.
Within “value to the student,” it was noted Donald Young School provides a sense of community for students in a small town, supports academic excellence, offers co-curricular and extra-curricular activities, and is centrally located to access community partners.
“Value to the system” included points such as the school offering specialized programming to attract students, having high academic achievement, and reducing busing needs within the system.
Meanwhile, the committee indicated DYS is frequently used by the community and promotes local development, as part of the “value to the community,” and offers “value to the local economy” by supporting local businesses, providing a workforce, and supporting real estate values and growth.
The committee also looked at funding, costs, and busing.
The options the committee identified and reviewed included:
•Keep Donald Young open and renovate;
•New school in Emo (immediately);
•Consolidation (within Emo with Sturgeon Creek School);
•Consolidation (within Emo with Crossroads School);
•Consolidation (within Emo with Sturgeon Creek/Crossroads/Donald Young);
•Split DYS (half students to Sturgeon Creek and half to Crossroads);
•New school in Emo (defer for five years); and
•New school in Emo (postpone for three years/open to consolidations with community partnerships).
Minutes from the accommodation review committee’s final meeting questioned the timeline involved if the board was approved to build a new school in Emo.
And it was answered, in reference to the construction of a new Robert Moore School in Fort Frances, that it would take roughly three years to complete a new school.
The committee agreed with building a new school, but postponing construction for three years, because it felt it was important that accommodation reviews of the other schools occur first as they could be part of a consolidation of Donald Young School.
It also agreed in recommending Donald Young School be maintained during the three-year postponement.
A final report—consisting of the committee’s report and administration’s analysis—will be presented to the board at a meeting in June, where next steps on the issue will be determined.
