 By Pepper Parr
March 20th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
If your household is anything like mine the Netflix subscription is key to whatever time there is for home entertainment or the occasional binge on a series you just learned about.
Lie to Me keeps me away from the writing – I tend to take in three or four episodes at a time
So when an email showed up saying there was a glitch in renewing the subscription I pay close attention, I didn’t want to be cut off.
I use a prepaid credit card for everything I buy online; that allows me to limit any loss that might occur should someone manage to actually get their mitts on the way I pay for things.
I thought maybe I had forgotten to top up the amount on the card.
If you don’t know what a prepaid credit card is – talk to your bank manager. A safe proof way to protect your real credit and at the same time limit any loss.
I have taught myself to look at the url on every piece of email that comes in related to money.
The url is the the name of the address the email came from. In his instance it read: (EXPLAIN)
Take a look at the url on this example: Netflix <noreply@netflix.ssl1.com> Anyone could have made up that email address. You could go on line now and create an email address that reads @netflix.ssl2.com
 This notice was not from Netflix; it was from someone who wanted me to click on that blue line which would direct me to a website where they could begin milking me for personal identity information. Don’t get pulled into things like this – look at the url
This is a legitimate Netflix email url: Netflix <info@mailer.netflix.com>
This was a scam – you can teach yourself the same little tricks and keep your bank happy at the same time.
Few people have any idea how much time the banks have to spend handling the return o funds that were taken illegally from an account. That plus the money that have to pay out.
The cardinal rule is this: If in doubt – don’t. And if it looks to good to be true – it usually isn’t true. Trust your instincts and reign in the greed all of us have.
 By Pepper Parr
March 20th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
The leading news story this past few months has been the work being done by the Halton District School Board to close two of Burlington’s seven high schools and the work being done by parent groups to keep their local high school open.
It is no surprise that the two are at odds much of the time.
Part of the process required to close a school is a Program Accommodation Review (PAR) that crates a committee of people, two from each high school, who are tasked with being the official conduit for information shared between the Board of Trustees and school communities.
They were given a framework to guide their deliberations. They had no input on what those guidelines were.
 PARC members putting their choices and comments on large sheets of paper. This was part of the process of whittling down the 30 options that came forward down to the six that are now before the committee. The fourteen people chosen to do this work, which is proving to be close to exhausting, have a tough job to do – and the HDSB doesn’t make it any easier.
The biggest issue appears to be the data that is collected and the information the Board staff pass along.
 Parents at a December 2016b meeting entering their choices on hand held devices as they responded to the 25 questions that were asked of the audience. The data had little relevance because it lacked any balance – more than 50% of the respondents were from the one school. Two surveys have been done, the first on December 8th at the New Street Educational centre where those in attendance got to use clickers to indicate their choice on 25 different questions.
The problem with the data that came out of that questionnaire was that more than 50% of the people responding were from central high school. The data was severely skewed to the Central high school view of things.
The survey was prepared by IPSOS Reid, a world class organization that found itself struggling to maintain their reputation – admitting that the December 8th event was not one of their finest moments.
The second survey was done on line and ended March 13th.
 The second survey was released at the first public meeting. It turned out to be less than scientific – anyone from anywhere could do the survey as often as they wished, The data was in the hands of IPSOS Reid at the end of that day. Unfortunately the results are not in the hands of the Board yet – this being early Monday afternoon.
That data will have to at least be looked at by Board staff and then sent along to the 14 PARC members who have just the one evening to go over the data and arrive at their own conclusions.
The 14 PARC members are all volunteers with jobs that keep them busy during the day.
It is both unfair and unprofessional to drop a long data dump on these people at close to the last minute and expect them to make reasonable comments. There is no time for them to talk to their parent groups and get feedback.
 Members of the PARC entering data on large posters. These people have worked long hours and are not being given the respect they are entitled to nor the information they need to form opinions and arrive at conclusions. The PARC was created to act as the official conduit for information shared between the Board of Trustees and school communities. In order for the PARC members to do this they need information on a timely basis – and that just is not happening.
The Ministry of Education Guidelines on the PAR process are new and there are clearly some changes needed.
Consideration might be given to changing the timeline these people have been forced to work within.
The Gazette had hoped to have the survey data in hand and be able to do an analysis so that the public could be aware of that the PARC members are working with.
When a public is shabbily treated by a publicly funded organization they get angry, feel they are being mistreated and look for ways to vent that anger and disappointment. That produces events that are pictured below.
 The turn out at the first public meeting where parents could see what the Board of Education wanted to do had hundreds of people show up. The second public meeting has Board staff limiting the number of people who could be in the very large room – they were close to exceeding Fire Marshall limitations.  Unhappy parents who are not given the information they need get angry – resulting in outbursts like this – no one winds and the reputation of the Board gets badly tarnished and the democratic process take a huge hit. Can you imagine what the next election of school board trustees in 2018 is going to look like
 By Pepper Parr
March 20th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
With Spring Break over and most of the snow melted away the citizens of the city can begin to look for warm sunny days – and fret about just what is going to happen to the city’s high schools.
 Public attendance was good – not huge but those attending paid very close attention. While many parents were out of the city the Board staff were working towards the last two PARC meetings that will take place later this week; one on Tuesday and a second one on Thursday. The Board would love the PARC to arrive at a consensus – the best this PARC is going to be able to do is go for the option that doesn’t close any of the high schools or choose to close Bateman if it is absolutely necessary to get the number of empty seats down.
This PARC has been less than satisfying to the parents and most of the participants. The process followed is a new one issued by the Ministry of Education (MOE) and it has some, (many?) bumps to be dealt with.
The 14 PARC participants have had a tough time getting a grip on the process and at the same time having to deal with a Board that has not delivered anywhere near enough in the way of data and information.
 PARC Chair Scott Podrebarac on the left with city manager James Ridge on the right. Ridge had very little to say – the public was never told what his mandate was other than to occupy the seat allocated to the city. The PARC was given nothing in the way of historical background and the reasons why the city now has seven high schools with 1800 + seats that are empty and one high school that is close to 150% of it rated capacity.
They were given a template to use as they made decisions on the various options that were put in front of them. That template asked them to consider, but not be limited to the following:
- Range of mandatory programs;
- Range of optional programs;
- Viability of Program – number of students required to offer and maintain program in an educationally sound and fiscally responsible way;
- Physical and environmental state of existing schools;
- Proximity to other schools (non-bus distances, natural boundaries, walking routes);
- Accommodation of students in permanent school facilities and minimal use of portable classrooms;
- Balance of overall enrolment in each school in the area to maximize student access to programs, resources, and extra-curricular opportunities and avoid over and underutilization of buildings;
- Expansion and placement of new ministry or board programs;
- Stable, long-term boundaries to avoid frequent boundary changes;
- Cost effectiveness of transportation;
- Fiscal responsibilities;
- Existing and potential community uses and facility partnerships;
- Goals and focus of the current multi-year
It would take a single edition of the Gazette to pick apart the 13 points in the framework – transportation is one of the better examples. Every time the question as to the cost of busing and the impact busing would have on the students was brought up everyone from the Director on own was told to “don’t go there” it is far too complex.
The issue that is almost as important as what students learn in the classrooms is how we get them there got shoved to the sidelines because it was too complex.
The Board has deliberately obfuscated on a number of occasions and has kept the PARC away from issues that are critical to finding an acceptable solution that is fiscally prudent, take into consideration the importance of community and strives to give the students the best possible educational advantage. Not an easy thing to achieve but there are some very smart committed people on the PARC. They deserved more respect from the Board than they have been given.
The PARC people had to learn new acronyms that the Board uses daily.
 The principals or their proxy were on standby during most of the PARC meetings – they acquitted themselves very well. Not one of them stumbled. The PARC members had to listen to data that was wrong the first time it was given to them and wrong the second time as well.
Parent groups from the high schools most at risk – Central and Pearson to begin with then Bateman and Nelson at a later date.
The public never got the sense that they were really involved. Meetings were held at which the public as not encouraged or given a chance to ask questions.
The five high schools that were not named as possible closure took a pretty relaxed attitude early in the process – when it became evident that Nelson and Bateman were being given a look at for possible closure they got active quickly.
The result was a turf war between the different high schools rather than an open co-operative and collaborative approach to resolving a serious problems.
 Superintendent of Facilities Gerry Cullen gave a report in which he explained what was wrong with the data they were being given – that was the extent of it – other than to say that was what the Board was working with. During all this the elected trustees chose to be mute. They didn’t want to “influence the process”.
The four Burlington trustees were on hand for every meeting – the others popped in on occasion. The city now faces a situation where all four of its trustees could vote not to close any of the high schools but the other seven trustees (there is a total of 11) could vote to close two of the high schools and that is what would be done.
What the PAR committee has to do is:
Remind themselves that while they were brought together to WHAT that they need to do is look at the bigger picture and determine in their minds what is best overall for the state of the high schools in the city.
 PARC committee members from Ward 1 and 2 talking over what was taking place. Both were very direct with the chair. Each PARC member needs to ask themselves why they are there: To fight for the existence of the school they represent or to be involved in a committee that looks at the available data and if it is insufficient then demand that the Board provide factual data.
The constantly updating data on the part of the Board is unprofessional and unacceptable and the PARC needs to tell the Board as much.
The PARC members need to demand that they have some direct input into the report that goes to the Director of Education. They should also demand that they be given the time and the resources to critique the report the Director gives the trustees March 29th.
Demand that the Board not rush the PARC – these 14 people have full time jobs that require time – as volunteers their time needs to be respected. The PARC should not be made slaves to a time line the board created.
 Somewhere in this crowd are a number of Board of Education Superintendents explaining as best they can what the preferred school closing option is and why it makes sense. Many of the parents weren’t buying it. The PARC has yet to find its voice – hopefully the Spring Break will have given everyone some time to catch their breath and provide the city with the service each one is capable of giving.
There is a lot more riding on this decision than most people realize.
 By Pepper Parr
March 19th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Tom Muir’s bottom line is that “the Board is cooking the books”.
 Tom Muir at a downtown planning discussion put on by Ward 2 city Councillor Marianne Meed Ward. Muir, is a Burlington resident who lives in Aldershot. He is a retired federal civil servant and a trenchant observer of what goes on in his city. He was once described as an “acerbic” personality which Muir thought was pretty accurate.
The Board cited two reasons for asking the trustees to hold a Program Accommodation Review:
Condition 1: Low Utilization, Enhance Secondary Programming and Learning Opportunities
Condition 2: Enhance Secondary Programming and Learning Opportunities
The first citing under-utilization of two schools at or below the 65% level is because the Board has cooked the boundaries and feeder distributions to produce that result.
They have done this, says Muir because the 1800 + empty seats in the seven high schools are the result of what the Board did back in 2009 to fill the new high school they convinced themselves was needed for neighbours close to Dundas Street and the homes being built in the newly created Alton Village.
Muir maintains the Board didn’t explain this to “the public or parents”. He adds that the PAR should have held the Bord accountable for that failure because the under-utilization of the existing six schools was part of what the Board knew was going to happen. The Board knew that surplus seats would be produced.” Muir adds “that was known, and part and parcel of the plan, at the time that the Hayden school was being planned.”
They made a deal with the Ministry, claims Muir, to at least partly fund new seats at Hayden by a “future disposition of surplus assets” which would be school properties – which they later identified as Central and Pearson high schools. “This is what they are trying to do now” said Muir.
The overall utilization is 75 to 80%. The new seats in Hayden are at 118 to 150 % – over-utilization of 214 to 604 seats.
 Stuart Miller during a Q&A that was webcast by the school board. According to the Directors Preliminary report, this will only get worse with growth, infill, and other development that is presently assigned to the Hayden boundaries and feeder distribution. These distributions are part of the recipe used to cook the result the Board wants.
In addition, the Board’s population and pupil yield models are projecting enrollment that is too low. The Board knows this but it still using a an enrollment model that produces bad projections. This happened when they did projections in the Alton Village, and this is known, but are still being used.
Muir believes this can be fixed. He suggests a “reshuffle of the city-wide boundaries and feeders can keep all schools above 65%, and move the average utilization toward the 75 to 80% level.
Muir opines that this is not what the Board wants. Not only that, but they are using the cooked books to show only the part of the feasible options that favor what they want, which is closures.
“I would add that the path the Board is on leads to another key logical implication, not yet in people’s consciousness, which is due to the overflowing utilization, portables, and over-directing of new pupils to Hayden” said Muir.
He adds: ” In time, with no boundary and feeder changes to balance things, the stated continued growth there, and actual population and pupil yields that have been over the Board estimates used, there will be another over-utilization based demand for another school. It’s a clear consequence of not changing how the utilization is managed and balanced.
 Central high school is the oldest in the city – and needs a lot of repair work. Parents ask why that upgrading work was not done during the past 10 years. Director of Education Stuart Miller responds with: It doesn’t matter where we put the boundaries or how we organize the feeder schools – none of these is going to produce students to fill those 1800 empty seats. And the Ministry of Education is not going to give the Halton District School Board any money to pay for maintaining those seats.
It appears however that funds will be available to do all the work that will come about should the Trustees decide to approve the closing of schools.
There is some hard number crunching to be done to determine just how much it is going to cost to close schools and what is really involved financially long term to keep them open.
Condition 2: Enhance Secondary Programming and Learning Opportunities
The second condition cited in the Directors report to the trustees was that reorganization involving the school or group of schools could enhance program delivery and learning opportunities for students.
“Director Miller repetitively says, and told me personally, that this PAR is only about the students and what is good for them.”
 Director of Education Stuart Miller preparing for a public meeting at Central high school. “I have asked Director Miller, the Board, Trustees, and the PARC for a detailed accounting of how much money will be saved, how many new courses will be offered, what will the courses be, how will the courses benefits the students, to how many new students, at what schools, and so on, in a detailed accounting.
“This information has never been provided and doesn’t seem to be in the offing.
Muir wants to know how if no such information is provided can the PAR condition be met.
“Also, maybe people don’t know, but the Board doesn’t have to spend the savings from closures, or other measures, on providing these additional classes and opportunities.”
Before we make such decisions based on assumptions, the PARC and Trustees should be asking for the information I asked for, and for Board and Director assurances that this will be delivered.
Muir maintains “this cooking of data and misinformation by the Board was started and done to get Hayden opened. They are doing it in order to smokescreen the options toward the closures they want and that were agreed to with the Ministry in 2009.
This means that all feasible options, of which there are many, are not being explored and explained.
All management and cost-benefit data and information is not being provided.
Muir argues that “the Board has no credibility and cannot be trusted. He told the PARC and the Trustees at the start of this PAR process, “that this is what the Board staff will do to them, and that if they tolerate it, they will be led down the garden path, which is what is happening. The Director is not their friend. The Board are not their allies.”
 Parents listening to the proceedings of the PARC Muir believes that the only thing that will save all their schools is solidarity. “You have to pull together. You have to demand the information you want and need to meet the PAR conditions and as many criteria as you set to meet yourself.
At bottom, the only power, and this is the real trump card of the Trustees, is that they have the power of the law.
No matter what anyone says or does, Board or Director, Ministry, the Trustees decide with their votes what will actually done.
 Four of the eleven Halton District school board trustees listening to the presentation given by Board Staff early in December. The Trustees are the law.
Muir pleads that PARC members not “waste this power fighting among each other, because you are all at risk, either now or in the not too distant future.”
Muir believes all the misleading misinformation, and the way the system talks in code, and partial truth is at the root of the problem the community faces. “Remember” advises Muir,” every partial truth is the beginning of a new lie.”
 Catchment boundaries are complex – the PAR committee was faced with 30 options to deal with. The prime concern for many was the lack of a high school that would serve the families in the downtown core. Aldershot on the left appears to have the balance needed – in the east end of the city Nelson and Bateman have catchments that overlap – which raised the question: Should either Bateman or Nelson be closed? Tom Muir is not the easiest man to get along with. He is direct, being polite is not his objective. Facts looked at logically will produce results that can be lived with is where he comes from.
Several months ago when Muir was delegating at city council, when Council wanted to reduce delegation time from 10 minutes to five he said:
“I would hope that Council votes in favor of the 10 minutes unanimously, as a show of good faith. I will say that a vote to reduce to 5 minutes is something I see as an insult to citizens and their possible contribution to what we do as a city – our city.”
“Further, if Councillors still want to vote down the 10 minutes, I say this. If you are so tired of and frustrated by, listening to the views of the people that elected you, then maybe you have been doing this job too long and should quit. I mean that, and will not forget how this vote goes tonight. “
“This Council is not your Council; it is the people’s Council.
“And these Council Chambers are not your Chambers, but are equally, the people’s Chambers. All the Councillors and Councils hold these offices and chambers in trust. A vote to reduce the people’s time to speak in these chambers is to fail in that trust.”
City council kept delegations at the 10 minute level.
The Halton District School Board exists to serve the needs and desires of the public not the wishes of the Director of Education and senior staff.
 Muir thinks quiet, polite demonstrations (the Burlington model) are not the answer. Demanding accurate data on a timely basis so that people can make informed decisions is the only way parents are going to be heard is Muir’s advice. When the closure of high schools in the city became a public issue Muir had some advice for the parents that were going to be impacted.
“If parents don’t let their outrage loose, and in mass numbers demand answers to their key questions, on a schedule parents set, to the Board, and the Trustees, and your Councillor and Mayor, and right now, immediately, then the trip down the garden path will continue.
“Parents have to self-organize and go to war for what they want. Sheep are for slaughter. They are the big bad wolf.
“If parents don’t do this, then give up, because they will just put you down slowly, on their schedule, with their information driving the bus your kids are on.
“Don’t kid yourself, and don’t go quietly.”
 By Pepper Parr
March 17, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Run that by me again – Why are we doing this ?
According to the Board’s Program and Accommodation Review (PAR) policy, a Program and Accommodation Review is initiated if one of the five conditions listed in the policy are met. Out of the five conditions, two have been met which justifies the PAR.
Director of Education Stuart Miller. There are five conditions but no one at the Ministry of Education wants to say what the five are. Director of Education Stuart Miller uses two of the five to justify his report to the trustees asking that a PAR be held on the Burlington high schools.
The HDSB web site has details on how the two conditions the Director refers to were met – they are set out below.
What the Gazette cannot find out is – what are the other three conditions. Director Miller used two of the five. What the other three are is not known to us. A call to the Ministry of Education got nothing but a statement on how much money they are spending in Halton. It was an almost pure piece of public relations fluff.
Condition 1: Low Utilization, Enhance Secondary Programming and Learning Opportunities
Condition 2: Enhance Secondary Programming and Learning Opportunities
Condition 1 states that the school or a group of schools has/have experienced or will experience declining enrolment where On-The-Ground Capacity (OTG) utilization rate is below 65%. Currently two secondary schools in Burlington have utilization rates below 65%, and one school is approaching this threshold. It is projected that all three schools will be below 65% utilization by 2020:
School OTG (Building Capacity) 2015 Enrolment, 2015 Utilization, 2020 Enrolment, 2020 Utilization
Condition 2: Enhance Secondary Programming and Learning Opportunities
By reorganizing the school and creating larger grade sizes and enrolments, the Halton District School Board can enhance program delivery by offering more courses and a variety of courses using funding that would otherwise be spent on maintaining empty spaces. The benefits of each school type are highlighted in the table below.
School Type/Benefits
Small Secondary School (Enrolment of 600 or less)
Staff tend to know each student better and may be more able to proactively intervene to support a student who is in need of assistance;
Extra-Curricular Participation – while the number and types of activities available to students may be fewer in a smaller school, students are more likely to make a team/activity because there are fewer students interested in participating in each team/activity;
 Trustees Grebenc and Grey – are they listening t the students – and the parents? Higher ratio of service area staff to students – to maintain core functions in the area of Special Education, Guidance and Library, smaller schools have a significantly richer staffing ratio than larger schools. This however comes with increased costs to the Board;
Less pressure on the physical space in the building e.g. less scheduling challenges on gym space.
Large Secondary School (Enrolment of 1000 or more)
More course options available to students to support different learners, interests and pathways.
Fewer scheduling and timetable conflicts – In the 2014/2015 school year, 39% of students at smaller schools had timetable conflicts while at larger schools 19% of students had timetable conflicts. Timetable conflicts often result in students not being able to take a course they had selected because two or more of their selected courses are running in only one semester at the same time.
Fewer “shared” students – a shared student is a student that is registered in more than one school. These students register for a course they require/want that is not available in their home school. In 2014/2015 12% of students (234 students) were considered a shared student in small homes schools. 4% of students in a large home school were considered shared students (169 students).
Fewer Early Leavers in larger schools – An Early Leaver is a student that leaves school prior to graduating. In 2014/2015 the percentage of early leavers prior to graduation was 1% at large schools and 3% at smaller schools. This in turn affects the graduation rates at high schools.
 Bateman students in the cooking class. More teacher subject specialization – more classes mean more teachers, therefore it is more likely to get specialized teachers while smaller schools with limited classes have less diversity in staff. For instance in larger schools there may be 4-5 science teachers, a biology specialist, physics specialist , a chemistry specialist and two science generalist, while at a small school there may be only 2 science teachers to teach all science curriculum areas.
More opportunities for Extra-Curricular participation – in larger schools there are more staff and thus more opportunity for greater special interests and skills and thus a greater offering of extracurricular activities.
More funding for students, less spent on maintaining empty spaces.
That’s two of the five conditions. We want know what the other three conditions are.
 By Pepper Parr
March 16th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
There is something wrong with the schedule.
The 14 members of the PARC are going to meet on March 21st and again on the 23rd.
 Superintendent Scott Podrebarac, Chair of the PARC, will write the report on what he determines the PARC members arrived at in the way of conclusions and any recommendations they might make. Then the Chair of the PARC, Scott Podrebarac is going to write a report on whatever conclusions he thinks the PARC arrived at and turn it over to Stuart Miller, Director of Education who will in turn craft his report to the trustees which they will receive on March 29th.
The Director will have less than six days to write his report, review it with staff and do a couple of re-writes.
Where is the time to reflect on the months of deliberations the 14 PARC members put in.
Will individual PARC members be putting together their comments and sending them along to the Director of Education?
 PARC members will have deliberated for more than six sessions, some of which went for more than three hours – they exchanged hundreds, probably more than 1000 emails and debated vigorously. Might the PARC itself file a minority report to give some balance to what Scott Podrebarac, Chair of the PARC produces?
There are many who think the work that PARC was asked to do is a farce.
At some point the people paying for the operation of a school board, that’s you the taxpayer, have to stand up on their hind legs and declare that enough is enough.
 Parents listen intently at what the PARC members have to say. Many feel the completing of the PARC report allows the Director of Education to tick off a box on his to do list and move on to the next task which is to shut down two high schools.
There was a point at which the Halton District Catholic School Board (HDCSB) was in serious talks with the public school board for a possible purchase of Pearson high school. The Gazette has been told that Fred Thibeault, one of the HDCSB planners, exhausted all possibilities with coterminous, (that would be HDSB) French Catholic, French Public and the City and wasn’t able to work something out – they didn’t really go anywhere was the comment the Gazette got from a former chair of the HDCSB
The Catholic school board held a Program Accommodation Review for the elementary Burlington panel of schools. The Board staff had St. Paul slated to close; the vote to do that was lost – so it can be done.
By Pepper Parr
March 14th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Just how does Crime stoppers work?
Everyone knows what Crime Stoppers is. Few know just how it works other that there are cash awards for some tips.
The Gazette publishes the following at the bottom of every crime related news article. The Regional Police add it to everything thy send out.
Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers “See something, Hear something, Say something” at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca, or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
How effective is the service? Stats for 2016:
Number of Crime Stoppers tips called in – 1,218
Arrests made as the result of a Crime Stoppers tip: 36
Cases Cleared as the result of a Crime Stoppers tip: 25
Charges Laid as the result of a Crime stoppers tip: 75
Property Recovered as the result of Crime Stoppers tips: $40,630
Drugs Seized due to Crime Stoppers tips: $87,600
So – how does being anonymous actually work?
When someone calls the 1-800 number they are asked not to personally identify themselves. The Crime stoppers telephone number does not have call display on any of its lines.
Cal Millar, the Crime Stoppers vice chair explains that most people don’t call Crime Stoppers looking for a financial reward – they want to help but they don’t want to be identified.
When a person calls Crime Stoppers they are given a six digit file number – and that is the way they know each other – by a number. “If a person tells us who they are, our trained Crime Stoppers operator immediately ends the call and instructs the caller to call the police.
The anonymity is core to what Crime Stoppers does; people, for the most part do not call for the reward money.
When there is a cash payout – how does a caller get the money – that’s a part of Crime Stoppers that results in a lot of humourous stories.
 What Crime Stoppers vice chair Cal Millar might have looked like when he was handing over a reward – there would have been a flower in the lapel of the trench coat. Millar recalls the time he was to meet a Crime Stoppers caller. “I had an envelope with cash in it and had agreed to meet the caller at an agreed upon location. Because names were not being used I said I would be wearing a flower in the lapel of my jacket and would be standing near a stairway in a public place.”
“The Crime Stopper approached me” said Millar, “ told me what the six digit identifying number was and it matched what I had on the envelop so I passed it over and we each went our separate ways.”
The cloak and dagger days are in the past for Crime Stoppers. The organization has a number of trusted partners who hold the envelopes for people to pick up. A recipient of a cash award will drop by an office or a retail location and ask if there is an envelope. Give the clerk the identifying number and the envelope gets handed over.
 A tribute to the Eagles – Hotel California at the St Volodymyr Cultural Centre on March 30th. Where does the reward money come from? That’s what Crime Stoppers fund raising is all about. They hold events and raise funds that they then hand out.
Crime Stoppers has an event coming up on March 30th. Hotel California will be playing at St Volodymyr Cultural Centre on March 30th.
Crime Stoppers is supported by the Regional Police who provide office space and a trained staffer who has security clearance to handle the incoming calls.
There is also a police officer assigned to the unit as liaison. The role is currently filled by Detective Constable Jodi Thompson.
Police throughout Canada and the United states will tell you that after fingerprints Crime Stoppers is the best investigative tool they have. DNA has since been added to the best tools the police have.
By Pepper Parr
March 14th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Halton District School Board Director of Education Stuart Miller is not wrong – but he isn’t right enough either.
Miller is an educator. He is not a sociologist, he is not a politician. He is a lifelong teacher who grew into an education administrator.
Mention a student he taught 15 years ago at a school in Oakville and he will tell you things about that student they may have forgotten. He is passionate about the work he does.
 Stuart Miller works from his smile – open and very much the professional educator who wants nothing but the best for his students. Whenever there is an event that will have more than 25 students on a Saturday morning and he will show up – coffee cup in hand.
He slips out of his office at noon frequently to drive over to Bateman and have the lunch that comes out of the excellent kitchens the students run. Then he sits and eats his meal with the students.
He is exceptionally open: not everyone will agree with that statement but he is a lot more open to media than any one of the politicians in the Region. Many parents don’t feel he listens well enough; just because he doesn’t agree with them – that doesn’t mean he is not listening,
 Miller is fully aware of the world his students are going into – and he wants as prepared as he can make them. He listens to the parents that want to keep their local high school open and he is mindful of their concerns but for Miller his job is to give the students he is responsible for the best education possible and that means offering every course he can in every school.
In order to do that Miller believes he needs larger high schools with more teachers to give more versions of the same course so students don’t lose out due to class conflicts. Those are the well-developed views of a professional administrator.
Parents appear to be Ok with their children going to a different school for some of their courses and Miller does what he can to make that possible.
He believes that a big high school with a lot of staff is the route to go – so when he says he wants what is best for the students he is talking about the course offerings.
 Miller with the ever present coffee cup. That a school has some history the students can attach themselves to is something Miller grasps but he doesn’t understand why a person would put a first class education before having a school they can walk to.
Miller doesn’t live in Burlington. He commutes to Burlington from High Park and uses the 45 minute drive to think through the day he is getting into.
Miller is all about education – he could have a stronger team supporting him but he hasn’t been the Director of Education for two years yet – the public might yet see him as the person who creates a team of Superintendents for the Halton District School Board that are second to none. He doesn’t have that yet.
The team he has is made up of decent people but they have not given Miller anything in the way of new ideas or innovative approaches to solving the problem he faces.
The lens Miller looks through is those 1800 + empty classroom seats and from his perspective it doesn’t matter how he re-arranges the boundaries or the feeder elementary schools – he still has those 1800 empty seats.
What Miller and his staff have not done is come up with proposals or initiatives for the trustees to consider. The province doesn’t fund empty seats.
While Miller has said again and again that the issue is not about money, from his perspective but it is in reality a money issue.
If the trustees decide to not close any of the high schools and to shift boundaries so that the pressure is taken off Hayden and Pearson gets back the population it once there will be more balance – but the city will still have high schools with considerably less than the 1000 students Miller thinks are needed to be able to offer a full palette of course offerings.
 The Halton District School Board in session. Eight of the 11 trustees have just a little over two years experience. A number of them may not have the depth of experience to handle the task ahead of them. A couple have been on the Board far too long. The trustees need to instruct Miller to give them financial options. If every high school is to be kept open the money to pay for those empty seats has to be found somewhere. The trustees need to direct the Director to find the savings within the budget they now work with.
The philosophy board staff appear to work from is bigger schools mean better educations at the high school level.
It is the trustees, serving the people who voted for them that make the final decision – and if the parents want all the school kept open so that a sense of community is kept with the schools we have and they want students walking rather than spending a significant part of each day on a bus – then that is what the trustees should be expected to deliver.
Miller is open to new ideas – he welcomes them and he listens intently – but he doesn’t appear to be a new idea kind of guy.
He spent some time in Africa with his wife but other than that his career has been with Halton where he started out as a teacher and grew into a bureaucrat who now faces the biggest administrative challenge of his career.
 Why is this PARC not leading more instead of following a process that the smarter members believe to be seriously flawed? The Program Accommodation Review Committee (PARC) is not coming up with much in the way of new ideas – they have become a group that is squabbling with the different high school representatives fighting for their own turf.
Board staff are leading the PARC through a process and the members of the PAR are putting up with it. There are voices on the PARC that can and should be showing much more in the way of leadership.
Miller will serve as the Director for perhaps another ten years. He doesn’t appear to be the kind of guy that will go up against the Ministry of Education. He doesn’t appear to have any aspirations to become part of the provincial government bureaucracy either.
A strong board of trustees can develop their Director of Education into the kind of person the city needs. The Director can then develop the staff that he needs.
Stuart Miller is a passionate advocate focused on giving the students in Halton the best education possible.ll about the students.
What he needs to appreciate is that those students have parents who also have a say, the say for that matter – at least in a democracy.
He is not wrong, but he is not right enough on the community element which is a large part of an education.
 Salt with Pepper is an opinion piece by the publisher of the Gazette who has been covering Boards of Education since the Living and Learning document was released when Bill Davis was the Minister of Education.
 By Staff
March 13, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Tomorrow, (Tuesday, March 14, 2017) the Halton District School Board office and all Board-related sites will be closed due to significantly poor weather conditions that are forecast to track into the region over the next several hours.
 Trucks will be out in force. The city has its plows on the road – snow continues to fall. Significant snowfall is predicted.
By Staff
March 13th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
It’s Fraud Prevention Month (#FPM2017) and the Halton Regional Police Service released the second of four scheduled Frauds of the Week: Emergency Scams. Emergency scams typically target older individuals and play upon their emotions to steal their money.
 According to the Better Business Bureau of Canada, the total amount lost to emergency scams in 2016 was $1.9 million. Since January 1, 2017, eight to ten victims in Halton alone have been defrauded of funds. One of these victims lost $14,000. Like romance scams, actual figures are believed to be much higher as victims often feel too ashamed to report fraud to police.
“Emergency scams work well because fraudsters throw victims into a state of mini-crisis,” according to Staff Sergeant Chris Lawson of the Regional Fraud Unit. “When this happens, the ability to think clearly or assess a situation is hampered and the first inclination – to help – kicks in.”
In a typical emergency scam scenario, an older person receives a phone call from someone claiming to be their grandchild, neighbour or friend of the family. The caller goes on to say that they are in some kind of trouble, a car accident, stranded in a foreign country or in jail, and need money immediately.
Some victims may get calls from two people, one purporting to be their loved one and the other a police officer or a lawyer. The caller will ask potential victims a series of leading questions which prompts them to volunteer personal information. Callers say that they don’t want others to find out what has happened. Typically, they will ask for money to be wired through a money transfer company.
More recently, victims have been asked for gift cards, known as “steam cards” as payment instead of money. In this variation, victims are asked to purchase the cards and read their serial codes to the caller over the phone.
Victims often don’t verify the caller’s story until after the money has been sent or the gift card information shared and cashed in.
The following tips to protect yourself from emergency scams have been provided courtesy of the Better Business Bureau and Royal Canadian Mounted Police:
• Remember: Scammers count on the fact that victims will want to act quickly to help their loved one in an emergency.
• Caution: Never send money to anyone you don’t know and trust. Verify the person’s identity before you take any steps to help.
• Think: Don’t give out any personal information to the caller.
• Investigate: Ask the person questions that only your loved one would be able to answer. Call someone you both know to verify the story. Scammers can learn a lot about you from social media, or while talking to you on the phone.
• Ask yourself: Does the caller’s story make sense?
• Important: Police will never ask you for money, steam cards or other forms of payment.
Anyone with information pertaining to a fraud or any other crime is asked to contact the Regional Fraud Bureau Intake Office at 905-465-8741 or Fraud@haltonpolice.ca. Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers “See something, Hear something, Say something” at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca, or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
By Staff
March 9th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Closing schools isn’t just a Burlington issue.
The Halton District Catholic School board decided yesterday that two elementary schools in Oakviolle would be closed.
Holy Family and St. John’s were both at 75% utilization; staff recommended closure and the board voted for it.
“What happens when the areas north of Dundas in Oakville are wholly developed and we need the schools?” Was a question one board member asked after the decision was made.
It was the largest closure in Board history.
Oakville Trustee, Anthony Danko, voted to close the schools, citing fiscal conservatism for the vote.
With Jane Michael and trustees Paul Marai, Anthony Quinn and Helena Karabela voting against the motion it looked like there was going to be a tie vote which meant the motion would fail.
 HDCSB Director of Education Paula Dawson An observer at the meeting said she overheard Director Paula Dawson, saying to the Chair for this year, Diane Rabenda, to vote for closure. She did and the motion passed.
The Director of Education at almost every school board have a tremendous amount of influence over the trustees. Many Directors cultivate the trustees who are all too frequently in over their heads – to be fair education is big business (the Halton District School Board is the biggest business in the Region).
The province announced late this afternoon that there are 300 schools on the “chopping block”. Having settled their labour issues with the teachers the provincial government now wants to look for ways to cut their costs.
The price for what you expect to get in the way of lower hydro fees might be the closure of your local school.
You get your chance to have your say in June of 2018.
The provincial government is trying to convince the two schools boards, Catholic and public, to share facilities.
Our source said: “Someone brought that up at the meeting – sharing facilities with our Coterminous Board is very contentious. It is akin to saying we are good with One Board for all. All nine HDCSB Trustees would have to vote to even go down that road, and it would never be unanimous. “
 Best time to inflict the pain is right after a win. A long time ago former Premier Bill Davis arrived at an agreement with the Cardinal that the separate school boards would remain. Davis and the Cardinal used to smoke cigars and sip good Scotch together.
Premier Wynn and the current Cardinal will not be sipping Scotch together and she isn’t likely to even suggest that the two boards be merged.
Should she win in June 2018 she just might have to take some drastic steps. Best time to inflict the pain is right after a win – no pun intended.
By Staff
March 8th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Marianne Meed Ward, city Councillor for ward 2 and Central high school member on the PARC said this morning that “We are disappointed with the vote of course, but now there’s an opportunity for the current government to bring forward its own motion for a moratorium on school closures and current PARs underway, including in Burlington. Recall that was one of the first steps former Liberal premier Dalton McGuinty took when he gained office.”
 Marianne Meed Ward at a media event at Queen’s Park with leader of the Opposition Patrick Brown. Meed Ward sat in the public gallery of the provincial Legislature and listened to the debate on a motion brought by the leader of the Opposition, Progressive Conservative Patrick Brown. Earlier in the day she took part in a press conference with Brown.
“A huge benefit of our visit: said Meed Ward is that “all party leaders have now gotten our message that this is not just a rural issue: communities across the GTA and 905 are facing potential school closures. We also outlined 13 ways the provincial funding formula and broken PAR process needs to be fixed, detailed in our Open Letter hand delivered to all party leaders.”
Meed Ward was also able to meet with Burlington MPP Hon. Eleanor McMahon yesterday evening.
“I ended up going back to Queen’s Park for the impromptu meeting, and unfortunately missed last night’s public meeting, but felt the meeting with our MPP was the best way to serve the community.
“Three of us had a two hour meeting after the vote with Eleanor and a staff member working on PARs in Education Minister Hon. Mitzie Hunter’s office after the vote.
“We shared our concerns about the process, detailed in our open letter. We asked for her to work with her colleagues for a moratorium on school closures and current PARs underway until the funding formula and process can be fixed.
 Burlington MPP Eleanor McMahon at her first public event after being made a member of the Wynn cabinet. “McMahon was very receptive, listened intently to our concerns and asked a lot of questions. She is committed to bringing the issues we raised back to caucus and her Liberal colleagues for discussion. We are very grateful for the time she gave us” said Meed Ward
“It was a full day with ups and downs said Meed Ward “but it was time very well spent. We made progress on elevating the discussion to the real issues: a broken provincial funding formula and PAR process that will not deliver the best outcome for students or our communities in both rural and urban areas. We need a moratorium on school closures and PARs until what’s broken can be fixed.”
McMahon has yet to make a statement on what her party will do about a moratorium on the Program Accommodation Review taking place in Burlington. Her office did put out a media release on International Women’s Day.
By Pepper Parr
March 7th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Photo description off the police officer has been revised – turns out he was a parent attending the event.
If the Fire Marshall had known how many people were in the room – he would have ordered the building cleared.
 You can’t ask for much more in the way of public engagement. Are views being changed? The room at the New Street Educational Centre was PACKED. It was the second of two public meetings to inform parents on the details behind the six recommendations that had been settled on by the Halton District School Board Program Accommodation Review Committee (PARC). That committee may yet whittle the options down to two.
That PARC has two more meetings to take place after the Spring Break – and they will do their best to get closer to a consensus – they won’t achieve one, there are too many parents focused on saving their school. The facts as they know them suggests they will come up with two options.
Many parents don’t think the really hard work being done by the 14 PARC members is going to get reflected in the report that goes to the Director of Education.
 Will these people turn out in the same numbers for the 2018 municipal election? While parents were at the New Street Education Centre, a small group had gone to the provincial Legislature to take in the debate on a motion put forward by the leader of the Opposition Patrick Brown for a moratorium on both school closures in the province and a halt to all the PARC’s currently taking place across the province.
The motion did not pass leaving the parents who watched the debate furious with Burlington MPP Eleanor McMahon who voted the Liberal party line.
There are too many reports of an overly emotional Burlington MPP who does not seem to be able to hold a rational conversation with the constituents she meets. Burlington parents feel their MPP, who is a Cabinet Minister, can have some influence on the Minister of Education, who has suggested that public school boards work with the Catholic school boards to see if they can find ways to share buildings.
A large part of the purpose behind the concept of separate schools boards was to keep the students apart. It will take decades to find a way for the two philosophies working in the same building.
 This is not a happy parent. No one liked what they were hearing at the Legislature and it wasn’t much different at the New Street Educational centre. Parents were close to enraged at times and emotions spilled over. Senior school board staff were publicly booed.
 The police officer was not on “duty” – he was a parent taking part in the meeting. What was the line in that song “You don’t take your guns to town”. The concern over how the public was going to react was so high that the board of education asked that police be on hand. The police officer on duty wasn’t there to blend in with the crowd – he was brute force incarnate.
Many of the trustees were in the room, realizing that they were next in line for a solid piece of the public ire.
Central high school parents were all over the place – some wearing the Save Central lawn signs that had been made as clothing.
Some of the trustees seemed several paces removed from what was going on.
 Wards 1 and 2 school board trustee Leah Reynolds speaking to Central high school students. During a discussion between a parent and a trustee over how keeping a school open would be paid for the parent, who appeared to have done her homework and was prepared to challenge the trustee, was told that she was being disrespectful. Not a positive sign.
There were five of the seven city council members at the first information meeting held a week earlier at Hayden high school for parents in the northern part of the city – not one in sight at this second information meeting.
 Nelson students were letting everyone know they expected to be standing upright when this was all over There was representation of Bateman parents at this second meeting but they didn’t appear to be as evident. On Saturday they gave their school a ceremonial hug – almost as if they were saying goodbye to the place.
Nelson high school made it very clear they were in the room and they expected to be standing up when this was all over.
Parents complained about not hearing any innovative or radical ideas from board staff who met in groups around board of education staff who clung to the party line – ‘we have to close schools to ensure that the children get the best education possible’.
Parents fully realize that the final decision, to be made May 17th, will be made by the trustees they elected and they want to see some steel in the spine of those trustees. The fear many, if not most have, is that the trustees are going to fold and eat the Pablum being served to them by board staff.
 The PARC members were in attendance – they are much closer to the parents interests than the trustees. Some very intelligent people look askance at the data the board is putting out and they experience serious disappointment over the way some senior staff at the board keep changing some of the numbers.
Others wonder what closing Central high school will do to property values? Will people want to buy homes in a community where their children will have to take buses to get to a classroom. They see Burlington as a community that buys into the concept of walk-ability and that want that as a big part of the lives they live.
Stuart Miller, the Director of Education attended – he is battling a virus and really should be at home recovering – but he was in the room doing what he does very well – trying to get his message across with all the passion and energy that makes the man who he is.
Director of Education Stuart Miller listens – he truly wants to hear and to be understood as well. He doesn’t appear to be hearing what the parents he serves are asking for.
As the evening wound down staff wanted to know how many people came to the meeting leaving the impression that the number of people who showed up was the sign that the meeting was a success.
How did the parents feel when they left the building? They certainly weren’t happy campers. There seems to be a divide between the thinking going on within the Board offices and what the public wants. Parents want the trustees they elected to stand up for them and the bulk of the trustees that were elected do not appear to be up to the job.
As voters, parents are already talking about the revenge they will take in October of 2018 when municipal elections take place.
 The battle is for an educational system that prepares this young lady for what at best is an uncertain future. The week will wind down with everyone heading into a Spring Break – will there be some reflection and the kind of thinking that pulls people together during that break or will positions harden and get rigid?
The social health of the city is what is at stake – it isn’t at all certain that the thinking coming out of the boardroom senior school board staff meet in is going to change very much.
The people being paid good salaries and fat benefits do not appear to be acting as civil servants – they have taken a position they believe in and are going to stick with it.
 By Staff
March 8th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Seeing Program Accommodation Review Committee member Marianne Meed Ward standing beside Progressive Conservative Patrick Brown at the Provincial Legislature is a bit of a stretch – she has been a liberal since the day she was born and a Liberal for the past five years at least.
 Ward 2 city Councillor and PARC member Marianne Meed Ward at Queen’s Park with Progressive Conservative opposition leader Patrick Brown. Nevertheless Meed Ward took to the microphone and spoke passionately to have all the Program Accommodation Reviews taking place put on hold until the provincial government comes up with a process that works for the tax payers and not just the school boards.
Here is what CBC reported earlier today – there will be more to come on this.
The opposition Progressive Conservatives are calling for a province-wide moratorium on school closures, as parent groups in cities and small towns across Ontario lobby their school trustees to keep schools open.
PC Leader Patrick Brown made the call at Queen’s Park Tuesday, accompanied by parents and children whose schools are threatened with closure in places that range from Burlington to the small town of Paisley, near Kincardine.
“There is a crisis in rural Ontario, that has now grown to the cities, on school closures,” Brown told a news conference.
Although school closure decisions are made by local boards, Brown blames the provincial government.
“It’s a system the Liberals have set up that actually rewards a school board for closing schools,” he said. “They actually tell boards they’re not going to get any capital funding unless they close schools.”
Education Minister Mitzie Hunter is urging boards across the four English and French public and Catholic school systems to look for ways of sharing facilities with each other before resorting to closures
In Question Period, Premier Kathleen Wynne rejected what she called the “blunt instrument of a moratorium”.
More to come
By Staff
March 6, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
The Ontario Legislature will be meeting on Tuesday, which will be an Opposition Day that has Progressive Conservative leader introducing a motion that reads:
Whereas, school closures have a devastating impact on local communities; and
Whereas, children deserve to be educated in their communities and offered the best opportunity to succeed; and
Whereas, rural schools often represent the heart of small towns across Ontario;
Therefore, the Legislative Assembly calls for an immediate moratorium on rural school closures and an immediate review of the Pupil Accommodation Review Guideline.
We, the undersigned, are asking for all-party support on March 7 for an immediate province-wide moratorium on school closures and Program & Accommodation Reviews (PAR). We’ve seen first-hand the problems with the PAR process, as one is currently underway in Burlington with the initial recommendation to close two schools: Burlington Central High School in downtown, and Lester B. Pearson High School in the North.
Our story is not unique; the challenges we’ve experienced are playing out in rural and urban communities throughout the province and led to the formation of the Ontario Alliance Against School Closures.
A broken process can only deliver a broken outcome, not in the best interests of our students or our communities. Stop closures and PARs until the broken “baker’s dozen” below can be fixed:
Provincial elimination of “top-up funding” for so-called “empty pupil spaces” in schools. This policy change penalizes school boards that maintain geographically diverse schools, situated within walking distance (or in rural areas a short bus ride) from where students and their families live. Boards are pressured to eliminate these spaces by closing schools and warehousing students into larger big-box schools, further from where people live.
This must change: The education funding formula needs a complete overhaul to focus on education not counting the number of students that can fit in a classroom.
A focus on what can be counted, not what counts: Boards can call a PAR if average utilization across several schools is less than 65%. The assumption is that programming choice suffers when utilization falls below this rate – but no evidence need be provided that programming choice is a problem before calling a PAR.
This must change. Communities deserve real, not anecdotal, evidence of programming concerns.
No guarantee savings from school closures will go into programming. In a classic government Catch-22, the PAR committee cannot discuss what might happen to savings from closing schools before we close the schools, because the decision to close schools hasn’t been made.
This must change. PARs called to deal with programming challenges must be required to show how closures will deliver programming improvements.
No quality control on data. The five year facility renewal costs for Burlington’s seven schools changed by a factor of $23 million halfway through the process, due, we are told, to a change in company and software used by the province, and whether costs were put inside the five year window or later than five years. Some costs were included that had already been complete. The new data contains errors.
This must change. The process should be stopped until reliable data can be procured.
PAR relies on enrollment projections that look backward not forward: Enrollment projections are based on Statistics Canada data which look at what has happened, not what will happen. Previous projections underestimated enrollment at Dr. Frank J. Hayden High School, and at Burlington Central. Recent Statistics Canada data has Burlington’s overall population well above projections; household data isn’t projected to be released till May – after the school board director has already released his preferred recommendation for a vote by trustees.
This must change. The process should be stopped until reliable data can be procured.
No requirement to include elementary students housed in high schools as part of any high school PAR. No solution has been or must be provided for the 260 grade 7/8s who are currently in Burlington Central High School if the school closes.
This must change. PARs called for high schools must require inclusion of all elementary students housed in high schools.
Impact on community and economic factors eliminated by this government as part of PAR considerations. Many of the schools targeted for closure in Ontario are located in areas where the most vulnerable students live, often in downtowns where the greatest number of low-income families, single parent families and immigrant families are located. Downtown schools like Burlington Central, are located in business districts that provide access to co-op placements, volunteer hours, and work placements at 430 businesses and several civic centres – which will all be lost if the school is closed.
This must change. Community considerations must be added back to the PAR process.
PAR decisions violate a range of provincial policies. PARs increasingly lean toward closing historic downtown walkable schools and shipping students to larger, newer schools outside their community (for example Barrie Central Collegiate, Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute, and Central which will turn 100 years old in 2022). This directly violates provincial policies to encourage walkable, complete communities, revitalize downtowns, protect our most vulnerable residents, give them equality of opportunity, and preserve Ontario’s heritage resources.
This must change. The government must ensure PARs uphold provincial policies.
Increased bussing in Burlington: 92% of students attending Burlington Central High School live in the walking catchment. If the school closes, 100% of students will be bussed outside the community. Walking to school is both physically and mentally the healthiest choice – one actively promoted by this government.
This must change. PARs in urban areas should be required to promote walkability.
A “recommended option” is required to start a PAR: The schools named in the recommendation are immediately on the defensive to save their schools, while other schools ignore the process – until they pop up later in the PAR as a potential option and feel ambushed.
This must change. PARs should have no recommendation or an open-ended recommendation that alerts all schools they could be impacted, to ensure full participation from the beginning.
Lack of clear communication about the PAR. PAR communication by the Board in Burlington has used jargon and mentioned “options” and “process,” without naming schools that could be closed.
This must change. The province should require boards to use plain language, name schools slated for potential closure and clearly communicate the gravity of proposed changes.
Involvement of MPPS, elected trustees, and municipal councillors is discouraged so as not to be seen as somehow interfering. This simply drives advocacy underground and behind the scenes, and deprives residents of the democratic right to have their elected representatives represent them – throughout the process, to shape the best outcome, not simply to react when a report and recommendation is already written.
This must change. Trustees, MPPs and municipal Councillors should be welcomed to full participation in the process.
Province and board play hot potato: When residents complain to the board about school closures, board staff throw the hot potato to the province: they are just following provincial policies and funding formulas. When residents complain to the Ministry of Education or their local MPPs, they throw the hot potato back to the board: the trustees have the final decision. It’s a perfect dodge to accountability by any level of government.
This must change. This government must fix the broken policies creating the crisis in education in rural and urban communities across Ontario, not shift responsibility to boards.
In conclusion
Our community’s faith in this process has been sorely tested, like so many other communities across Ontario who have gone through PARs. Residents feel the process is skewed and set up to promote the Board’s preferred option from the beginning. Public engagement has been stage-managed and appears simply as checking off the box of a Ministry requirement that the boards must go through in order to close schools. Incomplete, outdated or incorrect data is permitted. None of the information gleaned from the process needs to be considered by the board, because PARs do not make a recommendation. It’s time to stop the process and begin again.
Residents deserve and demand better than this broken process which is bound to deliver a broken outcome that hurts students, families, rural and urban communities alike. We are asking all parties to work together to support the motion on March 7 for:
An immediate moratorium on school closures
An immediate moratorium on existing PARs underway
Review and reform of broken PAR process
Review and reform of the broken education funding formula
Sincerely,
Marianne Meed Ward & Ian Farwell,
PARC members, Burlington Central High School.
centralparc@hdsb.ca
Dania Thurman & Lynn Crosby,
CentralStrong Community Group.
www.centralstrong.ca
 Members of the Program Accommodation Review Committee in session with the public observing.
 By Pepper Parr
March 6th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
The 21st session of the International Women’s Day Breakfast hosted by former Burlington MP Paddy featured newly appointed Senator Kim Pate.
She gave the room of women an eyeful when she talked about the criminal justice system and how it treats women.
 Paul Hensall gave Senator one of the Convo Plates his Foundation created to keep a conversation about mental health going. Pate was the Executive Director of the Elizabeth Fry Society for more than 35 years. She was instrumental in and widely credited as the driving force behind the Inquiry into Certain Events at the Prison for Women in Kingston, headed by Justice Louise Arbour. During the Inquiry, she supported women as they aired their experiences and was a critical resource and witness in the Inquiry itself.
It was no surprise then that Senator Pate chose to get very specific about what the federal government does and doesn’t do with and to women who are in conflict with the law.
Pate told the audience of influential Burlington women and representative students from almost every high school in the city, that it costs the federal government $348,000 to keep a woman in prison for one year.
She told the audience that the federal government spent more than $2 million transporting Ashley Smith from prison to prison before the young women ended her life in her cell while prison guards stood outside the cell door.
Ashley Smith was sent to prison for throwing stones at a postal worker. Her time in federal penitentiaries did not go well – she was a discipline problem and the time she had to remain in prison kept getting longer and longer.
The Ashley Smith case is one of those tragic embarrassments for which no one was held accountable.
 There was a long line up at the registration desk – for many high school students it was their first major event where they were celebrated as young women. Accountability is big with Senator Pate – but she takes it much further than most and preaches that society as a whole is accountable for how we handle those people who come into conflict with the judicial system. She does not pull her punches and being soft is just not her manner. She differentiates between being soft on those who are responsible and being compassionate to those who need help.
Pate asked her audience – why does any of this matter to Burlington and replied to the question saying it is in our best interest.
Before she started her talk Senator Pate encouraged her audience to ask questions – interrupt me if you have a question. Clearly the Senator had not been to Burlington before – that isn’t the way we Burlingtonians behave. We choose to be polite – which some describe as our complacency – after all there is no serious criminal element in the city.
 It was the safest room in the city – four female police officers shared the table with four high school students. Pate pointed out later in her talk that she is in pretty consistent touch with five people in Burlington who are on the wrong side of the bars. A Gazette reader mentioned to us a few days after the talk that they were working with a young man who is serving a prison sentence.
More than 88% of the women in prison are there because of poverty issues – they cannot sustain themselves and are not able to get away from relationships that are abusive.
Pate is a strong advocate of a living wage being paid to very person in Canada.
The two groups of people most as risk and who end up being tangled with the courts are women and students. At the root of all their problems is the matter of poverty.
“You will be changing that” Pate told her audience.
More than forty years ago in Dauphin, Manitoba residents were selected to be subjects in a project that ensured basic annual incomes for everyone. For five years, monthly cheques were delivered to the poorest residents of Dauphin, Man. – no strings attached.
And for five years, poverty was completely eliminated.
 The hall was filled – the guests at this table were at the buffet. The project’s original intent was to evaluate if giving cheques to the working poor, enough to top-up their incomes to a living wage, would kill people’s motivation to work. It didn’t.
But the Conservative government that took power provincially in 1977 – and federally in 1979 – had no interest in implementing the project more widely. Researchers were told to pack up the project’s records into 1,800 boxes and place them in storage.
A final report was never released.
 Senator Kim Pate You can guess what Senator Pate is going to be advocating for while she serves as a Senator.
The money is always there she said – they found the $2 million they needed to transport Ashley Smith between eight different penitentiaries when she was behind bars.
The Ashley Smith story:
Ashley Smith, born 29 January 1988 in New Brunswick was adopted when she was 5 days old. According to her adoptive parents, Coralee Smith and Herbert Gober, she had a normal child hoodbut between the ages of 13i-14, her parents noted distinct behavioural changes in the child; by age 15 she had been before juvenile court 14 times for various minor offences such as throwing crabapples at a mailman, trespassing, and causing a disturbance.
In March 2002, Smith was assessed by a psychologist who found no evidence of mental illness. However, her behavioural problems continued and she was suspended from school multiple times in the fall of 2002. In March 2003, after multiple court appearances, Smith was admitted to the Pierre Caissie Centre for assessment.
She was diagnosed with ADHD, learning disorder, borderline personality disorder and narcissistic personality traits.
She was discharged several days early from the Centre for unruly and disruptive behaviour and returned to the New Brunswick Youth Centre (NBYC).
Smith was remanded to the NBYC multiple times over the next 3 years; during this time she was involved in more than 800 reported incidents and at least 150 attempts to physically harm herself.
In 2006, Ashley Smith turned 18; in July of that year a motion was made under the Youth Criminal Justice Act to transfer her to an adult facility. Smith hired a lawyer to fight the transfer, but was unsuccessful.
On 5 October 2006, Smith was transferred to the Saint John Regional Correctional Centre (SJRCC). Due to her behaviour at SJRCC, Smith spent most of her time there in segregation; she was tasered twice and pepper-sprayed once. On 31 October 2006, Smith was transferred to the Nova Institution for Women in Nova Scotia (a federal institution). Through 2007, Smith was transferred a total of 17 times between eight institutions during 11 months in federal custody.
While at Grand Valley Institution for Women in Kitchener, Ontario, on 16 October 2007, Smith requested to be transferred to a psychiatric facility; she was placed on a formal suicide watch on 18 October. In the early hours of 19 October, Smith was videotaped placing a ligature around her neck, an act of self-harm she had committed several times before. Guards did not enter her cell to intervene, and 45 minutes passed before she was examined and pronounced dead.
On 25 October 2007, three guards and a supervisor at the Grand Valley Institution for Women were charged with criminal negligence causing death in relation to Smith’s suicide; the warden and deputy warden were fired, but Warden Cindy Berry later quietly rehired. The criminal charges against her subordinates were later dropped.
No charges were ever brought against the warden or deputy warden.
On 8 October 2009, Smith’s family launched a wrongful death lawsuit against the Correctional Service of Canada, demanding C$11 million in damages; the suit was eventually settled out of court in May 2011 for an undisclosed amount.
By Pepper Parr
March 6th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
It was a fully engaged crowd at the first public meeting held at Hayden high school where parents got to see just what the high school closing options were.
 The parents who attended the first public meeting at Hayden high school last week were fully engaged in trying to figure out and understand what the options for possible school closing were. They don’t like the way the information is being made available and they want to be able to ask questions.
Last October the Board of education trustees accepted a report from the Director of Education and agreed that a Program Accommod-ation Review should take place.
That resulted in a committee (PARC) looking at the staff recommendation that Central and Pearson high schools be closed and accepting other possible options.
The PARC looked at 30 options and whittled the list down to the six that are now being taken to public meetings.
The second public meeting takes place at the New Street Education centre – it is going to be noisy.
 The Board of Education staff put up large posters setting out the boundaries that would apply to the various school closing options. Parents found that the staff members on hand to answer questions didn’t have much in the way of answers. Comments from Gazette readers tell us that “many, many people (as in hundreds) are extremely dissatisfied with the way the so-called public information sessions are being held, specifically the display stations that were set up.”
“Parents want their questions answered, many have complained that staff at the last meeting were not able to do this properly. Every single member of PARC has asked that the format be changed to include a large group Q and A and they have refused.
“Their pathetic excuse is that the last meeting was with display stations and it wouldn’t be fair to the people who went to that one to change this one.
“Again, like so many answers coming from the board, this makes no sense.”
“Angry parents from Central, Nelson and Bateman are planning different tactics to have their voices heard at tomorrow’s meeting. Not sure how it’s going to play out but I think there might be fireworks.”
 This was the extent of public participation at Bateman high school when the Board of Education gave an overview of the school closing process. Everyone thought that Central and Pearson high schools were on the list. Truth was – every high school was at risk. Getting to the point where the Board of Education now has public interest has taken some time – earlier meetings at all seven high schools were very quiet and very poorly attended events.
That isn’t the case today – and parents want their Board of Education to respond to their demands.
The elected trustees are close to mute on this – they have the power to direct Board of Education staff to make changes in the way the public is informed – it is almost as if the trustees are in the pocket of the Director of Education.
The high school parents are not happy campers.
Central high school parents will be walking from the Roseland Plaza to the New Street education Centre. Nelson, Bateman and Pearson high schools are also reported to have plans.
By Staff
March 6th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
It’s Fraud Prevention Month (#FPM2017) and the Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) releases the first of four graphics illustrating common scams used on innocent, sometimes gullible people.
The program is being run nationally with the RCMP who report that 748 victims lost more than $17-million in 2016 to con artists purporting to be in love. The figures are believed to be much higher as many victims are too ashamed to report the fraud.
 Poster being used to warn people about romance scams. Dating and romance scams often begin when an individual creates a fake profile and posts it on popular online dating websites and/or social media. From there, he/she solicits interest in an attempt to gain a victim(s) affection and trust. Soon thereafter, a request(s) for funds is made. Believing themselves to be in a committed relationship, the victim often willingly complies. Money sent is not re-paid and the con artist disappears when they believe they have received all they can from someone.
“Dating and romance scams are popular because fraudsters prey upon the desire many people have to be love and accepted,” said Staff Sergeant Chris Lawson of the Regional Fraud Unit. “Sadly, it is often those who can least afford to lose money – older men and women, people who live alone or those with limited funds – who are victimized.”
The following dating and romance scam safety tips have been provided courtesy of the RCMP and the Competition Bureau of Canada:
• Only use legitimate and reputable dating sites.
• Check the addresses of online dating websites carefully. Scammers often set up fake websites with very similar URLs to legitimate ones.
• Be suspicious when someone you haven’t met in person professes their love. Ask yourself: Would someone I have never met really declare their affection after only a few letters or emails? Like many scams, if it sounds too good to be true, it likely is.
• Be skeptical of out-of-the-ordinary stories. Common narratives include someone claiming to live nearby but who is working overseas or someone with a sick family member in need of funds.
• In some cases, scammers will try to lure potential victims with flowers or other small gifts before asking for banking details or money.
• Never send money or give credit card or online account details to anyone you do not know and trust.
 Not always what it seems. Anyone with information pertaining to a fraud or any other crime is asked to contact the Regional Fraud Bureau Intake Office at 905-465-8741 or Fraud@haltonpolice.ca. Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers “See something, Hear something, Say something” at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca, or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
By Staff
March 6, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
The heavy weights are beginning to have their say about the closing of high schools in Burlington,
World-renowned artist and Robert Bateman High School namesake is speaking out against the possible closure of the school.
 Robert Bateman “The times that I’ve been there I’ve been just amazed at the things they’re doing that no school has ever done before but that were being done at Bateman,” said Robert Bateman, who taught at the south east Burlington school from 1970 when it opened until 1976.
Mr. Bateman now lives in Salt Spring Island, B.C. and still visits the school once a year. When he learned that Bateman HS was one of six schools being considered for closure by the Halton District School Board as part of the Program and Accommodation Review (PAR), he expressed concern about the impact it would have on students and the community.
“I think it’s much better for the kids and much better for their education to have schools in their neighbourhoods so you have the same geography and you have the same feeling for the history of it,” said Mr. Bateman.
“It’s extremely important for the emotional and human component of children.”
 Bateman high school students during a cook-off with Burlington fire fighters. Bateman High School has had more than $2-million in upgrades over the last six years, and with existing accommodations in place for the Community Pathways Program (CPP) it is the most up-to-date for AODA requirements. It fills a unique void in the city’s education system because of its wide range of diverse programming including: International Baccalaureate (IB) program; the self-contained CPP for students with special needs; LEAP Program to help transition students to grade nine; specialty facilities that include a highly customized kitchen for a culinary program and a specialized auto body paint booth for one of the many Ontario Young Apprentice Programs (OYAP).
There is also an Autism Social Skills and Drama Group, Robotics Specialized Course and multiple design/tech rooms. Having all program pathways under one roof is critical to student success as it allows movement between the pathways. Scattering those programs would effectively limit the opportunities available to our most vulnerable student population.
“The school has all kinds of departments that are getting kids much more prepared for life.”
“I think it’s a terrible idea (to close it) and it doesn’t make common sense” says Bateman.
Closing Robert Bateman would also result in the closure of the on-site YMCA Lord Elgin Day Care and could impact Centennial Pool, which had costly renovations last year.
By Staff
March 6TH, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
It was one of the crisp, clear, cold Canadian winter days with the sun shining brightly.
 Robert Bateman high school gets a hug from parents and students Saturday afternoon. More than 150 people gather at the Robert Bateman high school in the east end of Burlington to give their school, which is being threatened by a possible closure, what the community felt was a much needed hug.
In October, the staff at the Board of Education gave the elected school board trustees a report which said that the required criteria for a review on the high school accommodation has been met.
 Smiles on a Saturday afternoon – serious issue before the school board trustees. The trustees accepted the report and voted to create what is known as a Program Accommodation Review (PAR). A committee of two parents from each high school was created to review the options that existed and to put forward options. There were 30 options on the table at one point – that got whittled down to 14 and then down to six that are on the table at this point.
The closing options are:
Option 7b – No school closures
Dr. Frank J Hayden SS Boundary change
- No changes to schools south of the
- Lester B Pearson HS catchment expands to include Kilbride PS catchment area, John William Boich PS catchment area south of Upper Middle Road, and Alexander’s PS catchment
- Frank J Hayden HS catchment reduced.
Option 23d ‐ Robert Bateman HS, Lester B Pearson HS closes, Dr. Frank J Hayden SS program change
- No change to Aldershot HS boundary
- Burlington Central HS catchment expands to include Tecumseh PS catchment
- IB program added to Burlington Central HS from Robert Bateman
- Nelson HS boundary expands east. SC‐SPED & Essential programming redirected to Nelson HS from Robert Bateman
- MM Robinson HS ENG catchment expands to include Lester B Pearson HS
- Frank J Hayden SS FI program redirected to M.M. Robinson HS. No change to the English catchment.
Option 19b – Burlington Central HS, Lester B Pearson closes HS, Dr Frank J Hayden SS & Robert Bateman HS program change
- Aldershot HS catchment expands east to Brant St, ESL program relocated to Aldershot HS from Burlington Central HS. 10 rooms available from the Aldershot elementary facility to accommodate additional
- Nelson HS expands west to Brant
- Robert Bateman HS catchment include John William Boich PS catchment south of Upper Middle Rd, and the entire Frontenac PS catchment
- FI program added to Robert Bateman HS with same boundaries as the English program
- MM Robinson HS English boundary expands to include Lester B Pearson HS. FI boundary include Dr. Frank J Hayden SS with the exception of John William Boich PS catchment south of Upper Middle
- Frank J Hayden becomes English only school, with a reduced English catchment area
Option 4b –Robert Bateman HS closes
- No change to Aldershot HS
- Burlington Central HS expands to include the entire Tecumseh PS
- Nelson HS expands east to include Robert Bateman HS. Nelson HS receives the SC‐SPED and Essential programming from Robert Bateman
- MM Robinson HS catchment expands to include Kilbride PS catchment
- Lester B Pearson HS catchment expands to include Florence Meares PS catchment. IB program and Gifted Secondary Placement added to Lester B. Pearson HS from Robert Bateman HS and Nelson HS
- Frank J Hayden SS English catchment area is reduced.
Option 28d – Burlington Central HS and Lester B Pearson HS closes, Program change for Dr Frank J Hayden SS
- Aldershot HS catchment area expands easterly to railway tracks, ESL program added to Aldershot from Burlington Central
- Nelson HS catchment area expands west to the railway
- Robert Bateman HS catchment area expands to include John William Boich PS catchment area and Frontenac PS catchment
- MM Robinson HS catchment area expands to include Lester B Pearson HS catchment area.
- FI is removed from Dr. Frank J Hayden SS and redirected to MM Robinson HS
- CH Norton PS area that is currently directed to Lester B Pearson HS, to be redirected to Dr Frank J Hayden
Option 3b – Nelson HS closes, Dr Frank J Hayden SS and Burlington Central HS have a program change
- Aldershot FI expands to include Burlington Central HS FI catchment
- Burlington Central HS English catchment area expands to Walkers Line
- Robert Bateman HS expands west to Walkers
- FI program added to Robert Bateman HS
- Lester B Pearson HS catchment area expands to include John William Boich PS catchment area and Kilbride PS catchment area. The Secondary Gifted placement added to Lester B Pearson HS from Nelson
- Frank J Hayden SS FI program redirected to M.M. Robinson HS.
- Frank J Hayden HS catchment reduced.
Members of the PARC deliberating on the various options that were before them. The original option came from the Director of Education – to close Central and Pearson high schools. Other options were added. Anyone can submit an option. The PARC that came up with these options has met on four occasions and will meet at least once more – and possible twice.
They will produce a report to the Director who will in turn give his recommendation to the school board trustees.
Burlington has four trustees on the 11 member school board. All 11 trustees have a vote.
 Amy Collard – Ward 5 school board trustee. Collard has been acclaimed in every election. The elected school board trustee for ward 5 is Amy Collard. She was acclaimed for every election she ran in and at one point served as the chair of the school board trustees.
The Board of Education has created an email list that can be used to communicate with the PARC members who are all volunteers
 Anyone can send an email to the PARC representatives. A single email address has been created for the two representatives for each high school. Lisa Bull, one of the two parents representing Bateman on the PARC said she was “So proud of the incredibly positive approach our community has taken in their support of Robert Bateman High School. Everyone today was highlighting how much they had learned about the great diversity of programs and students at Bateman and how much they really wanted to have this saved – for current, past and future students.
Bateman, as well as three other high schools in the city, are at risk of being closed – there are 1800 + empty high school classroom seats in Burlington and there isn’t a strong enough flow of students at the elementary level at this point to fill those seats in the near future.
The process of deciding whether or not to close a high school is complex. The Board of Education created PAR that will give prepare a report for the Director of Education who will in turn prepare a report for the elected school board trustees who will, on May 17th, decide which, if any, high schools in the city will be closed.
If there is a decision to close a school that closure will take place effective September 2018. The municipal election takes place in October of 2018
 There were less than five parents at the first meeting during which Board of Education staff explained the PARC process at each high school. Few at Bateman believed their school was a risk. Parents didn’t seem to be fully aware that their school could be closed. That is certainly no longer the case.
The next event regarding the school closures takes place Tuesday evening at the New Street Educational Centre.
Central high school is planning a march from the Roseland Plaza to the Educational Centre. No word yet on what the other high schools plan to do.
The schedule for the steps to be taken between now and the final decision date are set out below.
Public Meeting #2 (South Burlington schools)
March 7, 2017 at 7:00 pm
New date New Street Education Centre
3250 New Street
 Parents at the first public meeting where all six of the high school closing options were on display were very engaged. PARC Working Meeting #5
March 23, 2017 at 7:00 pm J.W. Singleton Education Centre
2050 Guelph Line
Director’s Report (with compiled feedback) to Committee of the Whole March 29, 2017 at 7:00 pm J.W. Singleton Education Centre
2050 Guelph Line
Public Delegation Night
April 18, 2017 at 6:00 pm J.W. Singleton Education Centre
2050 Guelph Line
Final Report to Board of Trustees for decision May 17, 2017 at 7:00 pm J.W. Singleton Education Centre
2050 Guelph Line.
Parents looking at the boundary maps and the details for each of th six high school closing options being discussed by the PARC.
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