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4- The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday January 23, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com Committee to leave big decisions to staff By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF After months of work, the Oakville Program and Accommodation Review Committee (PARC) has draft recommendations it will present to the Halton District School Board, but first it will show them to the public. On Thursday, Jan. 24 the committee members of PARC PE 16B, who are examining the situation at Lorne Skuce, Sunningdale, Munn's and Montclair public schools, will hold their final public information meeting. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at White Oaks Secondary School (WOSS) South Campus located at 1330 Montclair Dr. "The general field that the committee would like to propose is that Sunningdale, which is the French immersion centre, be split into two French immersion schools. This would be done based on geographical lines so that Ward 5 would support one French immersion centre while Ward 6 would support the other," said Oakville Ward 4 school trustee Kathryn Bateman-Olmstead, chair of PARC PE 16B. "The suggestion the committee would like to put forth concerning Lorne Skuce, Munn's and Montclair is that those three English schools be combined into one," said Bateman-Olmstead. If these recommendations are accepted, the committee has opted to leave the decision concerning which English school will remain in use with the staff of the Halton District School Board. The decision as to where the two proposed French immersion schools would be located has also been left to school board staff. "The thinking of the committee members was that the staff (of the HDSB) have all of the specific details at each of the facilities," said Bateman-Olmstead. "They'll look at our criteria as well as theirs and find the most suitable location." Bateman-Olmstead said the factors that led the committee to reach these recommendations largely boiled down to the number of students at each school. While Sunningdale Public School is overcrowded, Munn's, Lorne Skuce and Montclair public schools have the opposite problem with too few students. "The reason you do an accommodation review program is because there are accommodation issues," said Bateman-Olmstead. "The way a school is funded for resources is based on the number of students in each school. So, if you have a low enrollment, you're not maximizing the resources that are available for kids. When you congregate about 500-650 students you have more access to educational resources." Although attendance at previous public information meetings concerning PARC PE 16B was limited, Bateman-Olmstead said, the general public so far has largely supported the committee's recommendations, but has also provided other input, which the committee has examined closely. "In some of these situations you get a lot of resistance. We had people wanting to help us improve our plans, but we did not have people resisting. People know that change needed to happen so that better education could be provided for their kids. They got it." Looking for healthy postmenopausal women If you are: · A healthy postmenopausal woman · Between 18-59 years of age · A non-smoker who does not regularly take medication You may qualify to participate in this research study, which may involve an investigational drug, and be compensated up to $1,450 upon study completion. Call: 905-629-5777 or Toll Free: 1-888-ARI-5544 Regular hours of operation: Monday to Friday 9 am to 8 pm & Saturday 9 am to 5 pm 4520 Dixie Rd, Mississauga www.allied-research.com A Company of SM ARI is a contract research organization dedicated to the advancement of clinical research. We conduct research for both healthy volunteers and those with medical conditions in a safe and friendly environment. www.oakvillebeaver.com