The Upper Canada District School Board’s second accommodation review meeting for Grenville, Brockville, and River area schools was held last night at Brockville Collegiate Institute.
Six concerned parents and community representatives spoke on behalf of a number of schools including Benson and South Edwardsburgh in South Grenville, Oxford on Rideau in North Grenville, and the Prince of Wales, Toniata, and Commonwealth group of schools in Brockville.
Their concerns were unchanged from the first meeting, with long bus routes, overcrowding, and the lack of extra-curricular activities top of the list.
UCDSB Superintendent David Coombs says he believes pleas and concerns of this nature could be enough to overturn the board’s financially-driven draft recommendations.
Coombs went on to say that keeping some of these schools open could push the board into debt, but it’s up to the board members to find the right balance of fiscal responsibility and maintaining what parents and kids want in their schools.
This was the last meeting for schools in the Grenville, Brockville, and River areas.
After the last public meeting for all areas, final staff recommendations on school closures will be made to the board on February 15th. The final vote on all school closures will take place March 23rd.
A total of 29 schools are slated for possible closure across Eastern Ontario, including Benson, Maynard, and South Edwardsburgh Public Schools.
