NORTH PERTH – At the Board of Trustees meeting on June 28, the Avon Maitland District School Board (AMDSB) approved a change to the contentious boundary review that started in October of last year.
They decided to adjust the boundary between Listowel Eastdale Public School (LEPS) and North Perth Westfield Elementary School (NPWES). They are also adjusting the boundary between LEPS and Elma Township Public School (ETPS). They indicated they will continue to follow their procedure when considering renewal of existing border crossers. The changes made will be effective for the 2023-24 school year; there will be no change to this upcoming school year.
Cheri Carter is the superintendent of the AMDSB. She says that with this approval they are delaying addressing the long-term enrolment pressures facing NPWES. As of right now, with the purchase of a portable, everyone will fit at NPWES, though projections show an influx of students coming to that school in the near future which will cause an overcapacity.
This decision is not the original recommendation that consulting firm Watson & Associates Economists Ltd. suggested. In a previous interview with the Banner, Carter said the reduction of the suggested decision is a reaction to the tumultuous years the pandemic wrought on the school system.
“What the common message we’re getting is,” Carter explained, “‘does it have to be now? Can we delay this? Do we have to do this right now after this difficult period for the kids?’ So, get the pandemic behind us, let these kids have a bit of normality, and then do something if needed… that’s what we’re hearing in the emails we’re receiving.”
The decision made on June 28 is to alleviate some pressures now but more decisions will need to be made in the future for the larger issues facing the AMDSB.
In an interview with the Banner on the most recent decision, Carter said that, “There’s going to have to be the annual review that staff do – kind of just as an operational work to make sure we have the portables we need… the bigger question will be what we do in the coming three or four years or five years, as we grow more.
“Now, the other thing staff will do is we’re going to continue putting in capital applications to the Ministry for additions – whatever we need to do to add space.”
Carter said that they have received a lot of community feedback and suggestions. As effective as they may be, Carter says that their hands are tied.
“We’ve had some feedback or some questions about ‘why didn’t you just build a bigger school when you built Westfield?’ Or ‘why aren’t you just adding a new building? Why aren’t you just doing these things?’
“The Ministry of Education tells us whether we’re allowed to add square footage to a school and also gives us funding… So we’re going to keep putting those capital applications in and hopefully, maybe, we’ll ask our local politicians to give us a hand like they did last time in advocating for us. And maybe we’ll see some movement to receive some capital funding for an addition or who knows what in that area in the coming years.
“I understand it’s very frustrating for the community to see this happen. And it’s also frustrating for staff. Because we’re saying to the Ministry, ‘well, we know what the growth is. If our projections show the growth that’s happening in the area, then definitely their projections will show the same thing. Can’t you just give us more money so that we can do more in the community?’ And that’s just not the way it works.”
Furthermore, Carter said that the pandemic, and seeing previous projections change on a dime, has impacted her own opinion on the system.
“Before the pandemic, I would have said things a little more strongly about it – that you should be able to project this, but the pandemic is a perfect example of how quickly things can change in terms of your enrolment. Because, from the Ministry’s perspective, they wouldn’t want to spend taxpayer dollars and then have it be for nothing. Say they gave us money for a school and then the enrolment didn’t happen as projected, then that would be very wasteful of taxpayer dollars and be met with tons of scrutiny… I don’t think anybody three years ago would have projected this mass exodus from the GTA, for example, to the smaller communities, right?”
For the meantime, the AMDSB will work on communicating with the community and planning bus routes for the 2023-24 school year. They encourage everyone who may be impacted by the decision to review the documents on their website at: https://www.amdsb.ca/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_
