Final round of school closure meetings next week

The final round of public meetings for the four schools in Algoma District that are under review for closure is scheduled for next week.

The goal of the meetings is to seek the opinions of user groups as the board considers closing the schools to consolidate them into new schools, says Bob Backstrom, the board's Superintendent of Business.

Last September, school trustees officially named Bawating and Sir James Dunn Collegiate and Vocational Schools as being under review for closure and consolidation, as part of the board's 10-year plan to replace aging and emptying structures with new, consolidated schools.

French immersion schools F. H. Clergue and Rosedale Public Schools are also under review for closure and consolidation into one new school.

The process has been in the hands of accommodation review committees for each school and has been ongoing since November.

At the final public-input meeting, committee members will present the first draft of their conclusions on the value of each school to its community and ask for input from the community.

They will then make any changes needed from the suggestions and ideas brought forward at the final meeting, and then take their final report to senior administrators at the school board .

The administrators will then add their own comments to the reports, presenting those to the board some time in June, said Backstrom.

At that time, the board will decide to consolidate the schools in question or leave them as is.

Public input meeting schedule:

- Bawating Collegiate and Vocational School: March 31

- Francis H. Clergue Public School: April 1

- Rosedale Public School: April 2

- Sir James Dunn Collegiate and Vocational School: April 3.

At last night's meeting, Backstrom told the board that many of the comments and questions received from community members so far have focussed on the new schools planned.

"People seem to have an awareness that we need those new schools and are anxious to move toward that goal," he said.

The meetings are open to any members of the public who are interested in attending.

Many topics may be discussed, including the possibility of including grades 7 to 12 in the new high school.

"That is already the situation at Bawating and we are thinking it will continue at the new school," Backstrom said. "Of course it's up to the board and they will make their decision based on public input. But we predict things will continue as they are because it seems to be working very well at Bawating."