While public consultations won’t start until early next year, Alberton Reeve John Milling said the possibility of Alberton School closing is an issue he’ll be keeping a close eye on.
“It hasn’t come to council yet but speaking personally, I was shocked,” Reeve Milling had said before Christmas, referring to an article in the Dec. 6 edition of the Times on the Rainy River District School Board’s decision to look at closing Alberton, Alexander MacKenzie, and Sixth Street schools while renovating J.W. Walker and Huffman.
“And talking to some other councillors, we don’t want to see [a school closure] happen,” he added.
While Reeve Milling admitted any comment on the topic is “kind of preliminary,” he noted deciding to close any school is a very serious matter he felt strongly about.
“I have three children in Alberton, and I’ll be paying attention to what’s going on there,” he stressed. “I believe smaller schools are not necessarily [bad] things. As a matter of fact, I personally think they’re a good thing.”
But part of the recommendation favoured by the board is to first ensure any decisions would be in line with what the public wants.
As such, it is planning to hold public consultations to first explain the financial reasons for any possible closures, then gauge any consensus among parents as to whether trustees should go through with the recommendation.
This process could take at least a year.
The recommendation was turned over to the board by the Pupil Accommodation Committee, which consisted of board members, principals, and schools council chairs.
The committee, a sub-committee of the Facilities Review Committee, was formed to determine the best way to spend the board’s limited annual funds on its increasingly aging schools here.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
