By Lisa Mathews
Centretown’s Elgin Street and Centennial schools, which faced the threat of closure twice in the last few years but were spared, could be possible targets again this year.
“I dread the thought of going through this again,” says Bill Filleter, chair for the Elgin Street school council, who was at the forefront of fighting the closures in the past.
Centretown parents have dealt with threats of school closures for several years. In 1998, speculation focused on Elgin Strret, Centennial and McNabb Park schools. After months of meetings, a community group set up to advise the school board on closures recommended that no school close in Centretown. But despite that, McNabb Park was closed.
In the fall of 2000, Elgin and Centennial were on a list of 23 schools that were proposed for closure. Elgin Street narrowly escaped closure when trustees voted instead to close Devonshire, Elmdale, Mutchmor, Lamira Dow Billings, Merivale and Overbrook schools. When the new board trustees took over in December 2000 they re-opened all of the schools except Overbrook.
“It’s an ongoing thing, even though we’ve had a bit of a reprieve I don’t think anybody thought the issue was going away forever, so I am not getting too nervous or excited yet,” says Susan Derby, co-chair for the Centennial school council.” It’s always in the back of your mind it’s a reality we have to live with because money problems and budget constraints.”
This year, the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board needs to cut $ 30 million from its budget. During public information sessions earlier in the month, the board indicated that once administrative costs are added in, closures of a typical elementary school could save the board $300,00 to $450,000 annually while the closure of a secondary school would save about $1 million.
One of the possibilities discussed during a board meeting Jan.15 included closing several schools to save $4.5 million
When considering closures two years ago the board looked into over 20 different areas, including under enrolment at an individual school and in the area, possibilities for transportation and relocation of children, and school programs, says Joan Spice, Centretown’s school trustee.
Whether or not the same schools might be faced with school closures this time would be impossible to predict, says Spice.
“I would be very surprised if any schools were on the list that weren’t in the 23 that were put on the table before,” says Spice. “But even that is possible given that is two years later.”
Centennial’s special education programs saved the school from being closed in the past but Derby says the possible cuts to special education programs may jeopardize that aspect of Centennial’s identity.
“I think our uniqueness is in our favor but we can’t say with 100-per-cent certainty that that will always save us.”
Filleter says a closure would devastate the parents in the Centretown area who would have to travel longer distances to reach schools outside of the community. Filleter adds that school closures would probably deter families from moving into the area.
Filleter says that the ongoing debate over school closures have frightened away some parents from enrolling in schools that may be a risk for closure.
“Obviously you would like to start your child some place with some stability that would carry them through the end of grade six,” says Filleter. “Throw this threat out there again and we are going to lose people and if we continue to lose people the public [school] system is going to be virtually non-existent, ” says Filleter.
Derby says if Centennial were faced with closure they would fight to keep the school open.
However, Nicholas Jackson, another co-chair of Centennial school council says he thinks parents may be getting tired of fighting the school closure battle. He says he thinks parents may just accept whatever happens.
“When the parents heard about the threat of a closure the first time around they were very stressed. We were all running around to different meetings by the board of education and nobody had any answers and we spent so much energy, so this time if there was that problem we probably would not be mustering up that much energy to go to the meetings to find out what is happening,” says Jackson. “You can go there and protest all you want but we’re not the decision makers.”
But Filleter retains his optimism. He says that if Elgin Street faced the possibility of school closures there would be uproar from parents. “Believe me there would be a strong reaction,” says Filleter.
The school board staff will present its 2002-2003 budget on Feb. 5.