Trustee ‘not supportive’
The article about the candidates for school board trustee and school closures (page 3, Oct. 27) indicates that parents who don’t want downtown schools closed will have their trustee on side, no matter what.
As an Elgin Street public school parent who has been involved in the school closure struggle, I know who supports Centretown school and who doesn’t. Our current trustee, Albert Chambers, has done little to help Elgin or other Centretown schools and not been very successful in his own backyard. McNabb school was closed in round one and this time he lost both Devonshire and Elmdale .
Not only did Mr. Chambers fail to save these schools, but during the week before the crucial vote, he put forward two surprise closure options that clearly favoured schools in the near west end. Both of his alternatives would have closed Centennial school and one alternative would have closed Elgin. Both options would have seen 170 students transferred from these two Centretown schools to the near west end.
Fortunately for Centretown, Mr. Chambers’ fellow trustees were not interested in considering his last-minute “solution” which had not even been seen by the targeted schools or communities.
There are clearly better strategies for saving downtown schools. I am not confident that Mr. Chambers has Centretown’s interests at heart. Elgin parents have more confidence that candidate Joan Spice can put forward the best case for Elgin.
Wendy J. Bennett
Waverley Street