-by Anne Finlay-Stewart
“Motion unanimously carried this evening that Council request the BlueWater District School Board delay any school closings until 2017/18 after consultations with the community. This will be relayed immediately to the School Board.” - City of Owen Sound Facebook page, April 18, 2016.
At tonight's regular Board meeting the Bluewater trustees have the option to accept, reject or modify the recommendations their own April 12th committee of the whole has brought forward for approval. The recommendations for school closures include closing Derby School in Kilsyth, Dufferin, Sydenham and Bayview Schools in Owen Sound. Individual Recommendations also include consolidating elementary students at a renovated OSCVI building and high school students t West Hill, and making a business case to the Ministry of Education for building new schools at Hillcrest and West Hill.
While City Councillors spoke about the outpouring of resident response, particularly to the high school plans, and the possible challenges to municipal planning, they did not comment specifically on individual recommendations.
In a passionate prepared speech, Councillor Thomas stated that while the Bluewater Board had followed its own policy on Accommodation Review, the policy itself, reflecting only the minimum standards of the Ministry of Education for such a process, was inadequate to meet the community's needs.
In October 2015, before the Accommodation Review was begun, the City Council moved that the Bluewater Board delay the entire process until further community consultations could take place.
Bluewater's Preliminary Final Staff Report, recommending the one high school at West Hill option, was released on February 29. This is the first time the report itself has been discussed at Owen Sound City Council.
Tonight's Board meeting will be livestreamed here.
