By Pepper Parr
December 11, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
There are a lot of parents who do not like the look and feel of what appears to be coming from their Board of Education. A public meeting held Thursday evening turned out to be an occasion to gather data and learn just what the parents would put up with; what they would give up and what they were not prepared to move on.
Lynn Crosby, a Central high school parents wondered “ if the purpose of the meeting was to actually gather public input, it pretty much failed big-time.
“If the purpose was simply for the board to be able to check off a box that they satisfied Ministry or Board guidelines to hold a public session to say they gathered public input, I suppose they accomplished their mission.
“The meeting occurred, but that’s about it.”
Lynn Crosby – Central high school parent.
She went on to say: “We thought since it was billed as a chance for us to answer their questions and ask our own questions that
(a) the questions we were answering would be non-biased and easy to understand. They were neither; and
(b) that our own questions for them would be answered, not simply asked and then left to float off into the air.
“I don’t see how they will be able to use the data to prove anything, since many schools were barely represented according to the attendance figures from each school, and since it was clearly publicly aired over the course of the entire evening that people were confused by the questions, found them biased, and felt they were not being heard at all with their own questions.
“The fact that many Superintendents and senior staff and the Director all fled the meeting instead of offering to answer those questions, certainly did not go over well.”
“Next steps for us is to carry on trying to show the PAR Committee, the Board and the Trustees why closing Central is not the right option and coming up with options and ideas that make more sense.
“This meeting didn’t change that one way or the other, nor did I expect it to.|”
Dania Thurman, another Central parent said “ we have been led to believe that our opinion is wanted and needed in this process.
Dania Thurman, on the left – Central high school parent
“We were led to believe that Thursday night was going to be the first opportunity for us to be heard and to provide important feedback. We were wrong. It speaks volumes when you have teenage students pointing out the obvious bias and narrow focus in the Boards survey questions.
“It also speaks volumes when our Director of Education and his fellow superintendents sneak out with their tail between their legs mid-meeting to avoid having to actually answer questions and face criticism.
“That survey was designed for one purpose only and that was to leave the community with no alternative but to answer in a way that would support the Boards current recommendation. Once that purpose was undeniably obvious the entire survey went south, leaving one thought in my mind – ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer.
“The HDSB needs to realize that the public is not full of uneducated, naive individuals that will follow like sheep wherever the Board feels they want to lead us.”
Prior to the meeting starting Director of Education Stuart Miller did say he had been advised by his Staff not to stay for the full meeting.
Central high parents will take part in a fun night and a fund raising event Tuesday of this week.
Rory Nisan, one of the co-chairs of the SaveLBPHS campaign. He graduated from Lester B. Pearson in 2001 where he found the smaller school to be an enriching experience. ”I was able to play rugby, which wasn’t offered at MM Robinson. I was inspired by the Pearson name to learn more about Canada’s role in the world. I eventually began an international career and have both Pearson the name, and the social studies programme to thank for this.
“I know that small schools can provide a great environment for learning and the development of youth.
Nisan feels LBP should be given sufficient feeder schools to ensure that there are 600 students. MM Robinson should be given the same treatment. The overall OTG capacity at the three North Burlington schools is 83%.
The close to 400 parents expected to be able to ask questions – and hopefully get answers – things didn’t quite work out that way.
This is more than sufficient to allow all three schools to be sustainable and excellent learning environments for the students. The number will rise as more families move into North Burlington.
The December 8th meeting was the first time there was interaction between the parents and people representing the school board.
There were few senior board people at the front of the room – which was deliberate. The facilitator hired by the board was there at this point to gather information.
Three of the four Burlington school board trustees listen intently – they are the final decision makers.
Many of the school board trustees attended the meeting and they stayed to the end.
One parent wrote that his take on the gathering of the data was “likely to test participants’ reactions and it appears that the audience understood very well that they were being manipulated.”
Peter Menet who earlier had said he felt the audience had been misled, wanted to know why key questions were being asked and the audience was being told that there was no one present to answer them when Associate Director Boag and Planning Manager Renzella were in the auditorium and could have answered questions.
The “process” hasn’t gotten off to that good a start.
From my experience, parents just have to become completely self-aware, so they find out for themselves what is really going on.
Don’t expect the Board to tell you what you want to know. This is really politics, and the key in politics is to control the narrative.
That’s what the Board is doing very well. They have the whole process structured and orchestrated.
They act interested, but they are defending the closures recommendation that they made right off the bat. That is their real interest. Don’t be fooled.
Of course you are being manipulated. Your key questions are being avoided, and right in front of your face. So what does this tell you?
They are trying to get you to fill in the blanks of some of their key questions. Your were “facilitated” – another political tool.
They are doing their own brand of efficiency, and I don’t think parents are being told the half of it. Parents are doing heart. Get that through your head.
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 Councilor 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.
Re: “…facilitator hired by the board…” – it makes me wonder why that function is being contracted out and what senior staff think they are being paid for. Or, if that is the case, why staff don’t have the skills to be a “facilitator”.