Offer refused

Dear editor:
The council of the Township of La Vallee feels it is important to add information to the article in the Nov. 6 issue of the Fort Frances Times regarding the school accommodation meeting which was scheduled for Nov. 19 at La Place Rendez-Vous.
The Township of La Vallee, concerned about the convenience and cost of the meeting, offered the Devlin Hall at no cost to the Rainy River District School Board.
In response, we received a letter refusing our offer, citing concerns about the capacity and the cost of a sound system at our hall.
Our hall has a capacity of well over 200 people and a quality sound system which has proven to be more than adequate.
We have hosted the AGM of our municipal association, an intergovernmental networking session, a wild food symposium, weddings, funerals, and many other community events to the satisfaction of those attending.
The use of the Devlin Hall would have reduced the drive for most people attending this important board meeting by more than 30 minutes, likely would have increased attendance at it, as well as saving our school board a significant amount of money.
This squandering of public funds, and disregard for the people affected, is disgraceful. But it also makes me fearful for the quality of other decisions this board is making.
Who decided our hall was not big enough or that it has no sound system? No one called our office to ask about its attributes. Instead, staff made assumptions presumably—and the board used that information to make its decision.
Did any board member question that information, or did they just go along with what staff already had decided?
This deplorable disregard for making an informed, rational, and mindful decision makes me wonder if we can expect better when it comes time to decide the fate of three schools in the centre of our district.
Will the decision-makers actually consider what is best for our students and our communities? Will they spend millions to save thousands?
It is too late to change the location of the meeting but it is not too late to affect the fate of three schools.
This is extremely important to everyone in this district, and I urge each and every person to talk to his or her trustee about it.
In closing, I would like to remind everyone of the old saying, “Education will never be as expensive as ignorance.”
Yours truly,
Ross Donaldson,
Reeve, Township
of La Vallee