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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday February 11, 2009 - 9 Board in no rush to scrap Lakeshore Woods school site By Tina Depko OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF A decision regarding the fate of a proposed public elementary school in the Lakeshore Woods subdivision has been deferred to June. Trustees voted at the Feb. 4 board meeting in favour of discussing the issue at a program and accommodation review committee meeting before deciding whether to permanently scrap plans for the school. The motion to defer was put forward by Oakville Wards 1 and 2 trustee Don Vrooman, who said he does not want the board to abandon the project. "We do have about over 300 students now even before the development is complete attending schools outside their area, so based on those things, I'd really like to see further consideration to the disposition and I'd like us to do it in the context of the LTAP (Long Term Accommodation Plan) and a PARC (Program Accommodation and Review Committee)," Vrooman said. The land for the proposed Lakeshore Woods school is currently owned by New Province Homes Ltd., which has appealed to the Ontario Municipality Board to develop a subdivision on the site. However, New Province Homes Ltd. is unable to move forward with the subdivision until the board makes a final decision on the school. The proposed school, which would be located on the north side of Shell Park in southwest Oakville, was originally part of the board's long term accommodation plan for 2008-13. Trustees voted in July 2008 to exclude the project from this plan. This decision enabled the proposed school to be added back to the accommodation plan down the road. The current recommendation on the table would close to the door to any future build of the school and allow New Province Homes Ltd. to develop the land. There is no deadline for trustees to make a decision on the issue, but Steven Parfeniuk, superintendent of business services with the school board, asked trustees at a meeting last month to make a decision sooner rather than later for the sake of the community. There are currently about 400 total excess spaces in several southwest Oakville public elementary schools, according to board staff. Accommodation problems would occur if the 400 to 500 capacity Lakeshore Woods school was built, as excess spaces would increase, said Parfeniuk. Compounding the issue is that enrolment is expected to decline in this area over the coming years. The end result could be programming problems. Transportation is also a concern. Currently, all students in the Lakeshore Woods area are eligible for transportation. While building a school in that area would mean fewer of those students would be bused, students currently walking to several other schools in the southwest area would need to be bused as a result of school consolidation. Another aspect of the Lakeshore Woods project is that a Program and Accommodation Review Committee (PARC) process would need to be done before the school was built. Director of Education Wayne Joudrie said the PARC process would need to be revised before one was enacted for Wards 1 and 2. Staff did highlight one advantage to building the school. Parfeniuk said that since most schools in the area are more than 20 years old, maintenance costs are higher than those for newer schools. If a new school was built, it could reduce these maintenance costs, as other older schools could be closed. In Timbits Hockey, kids learn that there's more to hockey than just playing the game. It's also a fun way to make new friends and discover a love for the game. Tim Hortons is proud to support over 480 boys and girls who play Timbits Hockey in Oakville. The first goal is having fun. © Tim Hortons, 2007