By Pepper Parr

February 16, 2017

BURLINGTON, ON

They don’t call it grass roots organizing for nothing.

It is when you go out into the streets and invite people to a meeting that you hear and learn what the issues really are.

Wednesday evening, Central Strong, the parent group at Central high school, invited people to a meeting to hear what they had to say about how the Program Accommodation Review (PAR) process was going.

Setting out chairs for a crowd that reached the 100 people level.

Not all that good at this point according to Ward 2 city Councillor Marianne Meed Ward who is one of the two Central high school community reps on the Program Accommodation Review Committee (PARC).

The people putting the meeting together had no idea how many people were going to show up – they set out 50 chairs and hoped for the best. They ended up setting up more than 100 chairs.

The meeting was orderly and a lot of useful and significant information came to the surface. There were people in the room who took part in preventing a closure of the school in 1978 and again in 1998. These were tested and proven community activists.

The mood was upbeat – Ian Farwell, the other Central high representative on the PARC told the audience that this is not a done deal.

Meed Ward said she felt that whatever the decision was it should be a better outcome for the students and added that closing Central where 92% of the students walk to school and bussing them to another school is not a better solution.

Some felt that forcing students to leave their community for an education is a Human Rights matter – that may be a bit of a stretch, but it does reflect the depth of feeling the patents have for the strength of their community and how they feel.

What came through very clearly was that the process is flawed and that the board is not being transparent. New information comes in and it doesn’t get the attention it deserves was a common complaint.

During the meeting at which PARC members were asked to set out which option met the PARC Framework criteria and which ones did not – the meeting was told that it was going to cost approximately $10 million to get the schools up to the AODA standard and how much would be saved if Central and Pearson were closed.

PARC members with the sheets of paper on the meeting room wall where they would indicate the option that they felt should be recommended to the Director of Education.

Shortly after being given this information, with no opportunity for debate, the PARC members were then asked to put dots on the option they favoured. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that if closing Central would save $3 million in AODA costs and several more million in operating costs – why the board recommendation – Option 19 – got more dots than any other option,

Several parents made much of the boards transportation policy – they built Hayden so students would not have to be bussed out of that community and now they want to close two schools in southern Burlington and bus those students out of their community.

“A dumb idea” called out one parent. Very few parents were calling out abusive comments – these were people who came to listen, to have their concerns heard and then to talk through options.

In 1998 when the board wanted to close Central the community held a parade up Brant Street. That was the tipping point in public opinion then said one parent. Look for another parade this third attempt to close Central high school.

Dania Thurman, one of the spokes people for Central Strong

Lynne Crosby, one of the spokes people for Central strong.

Lynne Crosby and Dania Thurman, the two spokes people for the Central parents, did a 25 minute interview on CHML during which they were asked where the Mayor of the city stood on all this. “Ask him” the two responded. Burlington is represented in the PARC process by city manager James Ridge who the Mayor said had volunteered to take on the task. Ridge attends as an observer and does not get to vote on anything. So far he has spoken on one occasion when he said all development in Burlington is taking place above the QEW. There is much more current condo development taking place south of the QEW. Few are impressed with Ridge’s comment up to this point.

The Central crowd was even less than impressed with the facilitator working for the board from Ipsos Reid. Some felt the board should have asked for someone else to serve the boards need or cancel the contract.

Kirk Perris handled the December 8th meeting at which a lot of data was captured though a process that most saw as poorly design and badly executed. Perris did say later that it wasn’t one of his better days. No kidding!
Central parents point out that were the board to close Bateman high school and redistribute those students to Nelson and M.M. Robinson 1340 of the 1800 empty seat problem would be resolved.

Several hundred families could well move into the townhouses being built at the Aldershot Go Station.

Were Central to be closed Aldershot high school would suddenly have a massive problem on its hands. The ADI Station West development is going to add a significant number of students to Aldershot.

Not so says the Board – those are condo’s and family’s don’t choose to live in condo’s. Much of the ADI product is townhouses reply the Aldershot parents who also point to the long delayed Eagles Heights development in the North West corner of the city where 1000 houses are expected to go up.

There is a bigger long term impact on the downtown core that Central parents feel most people aren’t getting.

Meed Ward put it front and center when she said that if Central is closed there will never be another high school in the downtown core – that land will be far too expensive. “If we let this go we will have lost a downtown high school forever.”

The audience was asked how many of them knew people who attended Central lived in condos or apartments – more than 20% of the hands in the room went up in the air. That surprised a lot of people.

One of the parents involved in the 1998 battle pointed out that the parents have a much more compelling argument this time around. The fear Central Strong has is that not enough people are fully aware of just how serious the problem is. “The board is worried” said one parent “they realize this is not going their way and they don’t know what to do about that”.

The two Central PARC members claim that on two occasions when they have raised an issue they were told they were out of order and their issue was dismissed. Ian Farrell is not the kind of person you want to attempt to dismiss lightly.

The process bothers many. Meed Ward complained that the PARC members have not been given a formal opportunity to dialogue – the moderation is terrible; it is a frustrating process; we are in a tough situation, she added.

Many of the PARC members from other schools are breathing a sigh of relief and saying to themselves “at least it is not us” when it is very clear that all, except for Hayden high school, are at risk.

Sharon Picken is one of the two Bateman high school PARC members. A very strong advocate for keeping that high school open.

The Bateman people certainly understand that and are putting up fierce arguments about even the idea of closing tat school.
“Rationality has left the room” was a comment heard.
The Ward 1 and 2 school board trustee arrived late – she was king part in one of the board’s regular meetings and left that event early to speak. Asked where do the trustees get their information as they prepare to vote, Leah Reynolds replied that they are waiting to see what comes out of the PARC process.

Reynolds added that the trustees do not see what he PARC members get sent to them or say to each other.

Burlington trustees Grebenc and Reynolds attend every PARC meeting.

Reynolds and the other three Burlington trustee attend the PARC meetings as observers. Grebenc and Reynolds attend every meeting – the other two Collard and Papin are more sporadic in their attendance. Collard will be facing strong pressure to not back a Bateman closing.

Reynolds attended a meeting of Aldershot parents and learned that many did not know the school closing process was even taking place.

A shock to the people taking part in the Central strong meeting, which took place at the Lions community hall, was that 60% of the people in the room had children in school at the elementary level – these people were very concerned about where there children were going to spend their high school years

The meeting was told that the argument being put forward by the board is that larger high schools are able to offer a much larger choice of programs than small schools – yet the student survey made it clear that there are more course conflicts at Hayden, the largest high school, than at any other high school.

What parents are finding is that the information they are given just does not square with the on the ground reality they are facing.

Many just don’t have any confidence in the process and don’t believe the board staff are telling them the full story.

The PARC members for Central said that there are far too many walk on pieces of information. Meed Ward said some information is put in front of them without their being any opportunity to discuss or dialogue.

When the PARC is told just how much the AODA changes are going to save and then told a few minutes later how much is going to be saved if option 19 – close two high schools – is chosen and then they are asked to choose the options they like best, of course option 19 us chosen. Meed Ward and her colleague Ian Farwell felt the PARC members were being manipulated.

It was a successful grass roots community meeting – what comes out of it will be seen in the days and weeks ahead.

The end of all this is May 17th, when the 11 trustees cast their votes. Meed Ward put it well when she said “we are in the valley” right now, “in a trough” that we need to get out of that trough.

Would a march up Brant Street make a difference?