The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

w w w .insideH A LTO N .com | O A K V IL L E B E A V E R | Friday, M arch 1 7 , 2 0 1 7 | 8 Halton Catholic school board approves school closures by Marta Marychuk Oakville Beaver Staff The Halton Catholic District School Board (HCDSB) plans to close three Oakville el ementary schools, as part of the Province' s plan to shutter countless schools across On tario. At the March 8 board meeting, HCDSB approved a motion to consolidate Holy Family, St. John and St. Michael elementary schools into one newly-constructed facility. If funding is approved for the new facility, which would hold 550 pupils, it would be called Oakville Northeast Catholic Elemen tary School and would be constructed on the existing St. Michael Elementary School site on Sewell Drive. Some parents expressed disapproval of the plan. "It's a bad thing," said Sofia Bilbao, who has a four-year-old child who attends Holy Family. "We want them to keep the school the way it is. "The kids and the parents are not happy," Bilbao added. Said Oakville School Board Trustee Helena Karabela in a media release: "I am shocked and disappointed that my colleagues chose to close schools as a solution to the com plex problems facing Catholic education in Halton." The school board points to declining en rolment in northeast Oakville as having an im pact on the quality of education, said Tim Overholt, superintendent of education for school services at HCDSB. The Ontario Ministry of Education has announced plans to phase out "top-up" funding for empty classroom spaces. That means money needed for school mainte nance and operation is coming out of the board' s budget, said Overholt. "It' s not just cost savings," Overholt add ed. Declining enrolment also has an impact on the number of staff, which is dwindling down, Overholt said. Although all students receive the same quality of education, fewer staff are available to provide extracurricular activities. It was a difficult decision to move forward with this process, he added. "We know that it is an emotional process." Multiple accommodation options reviewed During the process, Overholt said a total of 17 accommodation options were developed, reviewed and decided upon. But the decision of the board was made in the best interest of the children who will be attending school in the future, as well as the best interest of the children who are in school now, said Overholt. As part of board' s motion, HCDSB ap proved school attendance adjustments to ac commodate the consolidation of schools: The board would re-direct school atten dance in the T 21 and T 25 areas of Oakville (north of Upper Middle Road between Neyagawa Boulevard and Sixth Line) from St. John to Our Lady of Peace Elementary School. And, the board would grandfather all stu dents living in the T 21 and T 25 areas and en rolled at St. John, effective June 30, 2 0 1 7 , the option to attend the new Oakville Northeast School, without transportation. Mike Dytnerski has a six-year-old daugh ter who attends Holy Family. "W e're not hap py with it," he said, in reference to the board' s decision to amalgamate the three schools. Dytnerski said he understands that enrol m ent levels at some schools are too low. Holy Family is currently operating at 75 per cent SO O NTO RN BAHN THAI Soontorn Bahn Thai is the premium thai restaurant in downtown Oakville specializing in Royal Thai cuisine with fresh ingredient from Thailand. It is extremely beautifully decorated to enhance the thai tropical effect and the romantic atmosphere. 210 Lakeshore Road East, Oakville · 9 0 5-81 5-84 ^ ? Monday - Thursday 11:00; Friday 11:00-11:00; Saturday 12:00-11:00; Sunday 12:00-9:30 capacity. But merging St. John with St. Mi chael schools would have solved the prob lem, Dytnerski said. Ontario Education Minister Mitzie Hunter has said there are 43 reviews currently un derway, involving as many as 3 0 0 schools, and in the 2 0 1 6 -1 7 academic year, school boards have decided to close 19 schools. Although the closures are being done lo cally through school boards, both the Pro gressive Conservatives and the NDP have called for a moratorium on school closures. The NDP have launched a petition called Save Our Schools. If the Ontario Ministry of Education does not approve funding for the new school, HCDSB also approved an alternative option. HCDSB would consolidate St. John atten dance areas south of Upper Middle Road into the existing St. Michael Catholic Elementary School, for the 2 0 1 8 -2 0 1 9 school year. And, HCDSB would re-direct school at tendance areas T 21 and T 25 from St. John to Our Lady of Peace, and all students living in the area will grandfathered with the option to attend the new Oakville Northeast school, without transportation beginning 2 0 1 8-19. HCDSB would also consolidate stu dents from Holy Family into St. Marguerite d'Youville beginning in 2 0 2 0 -2 1 and build a permanent classroom addition. a c c e s s a b ilitie s I 11 Your ability store.Our passion. WWW.BAHNTHAIGROUP.COM All Commercial and Residentantial DISPOSAL SERVICES Mention Promo Code AAA 10 CPAP THERAPY W H E N IT C O M E S T O SLEEP, EV ER Y M IN U T E C O U N T S S O M E O F T H E B E N E F I T S O F C P A P T H E R A P Y IN C L U D E : Oakville Beaver and receive % OFF the Price of Your BIN RENTAL* 10% O FF Serving Oakville, Burlington, Milton & Mississauga 586 Third Line, Oakville Feeling more rested More energetic Elim ination o f snoring Decreased risk fo r fatal and non-fatal card io vascular events · Possible reduction in Blood Pressure reducing the risk of sfroke 549 Bronte Rd, Oakville info@accessabilities.ca 905-825-5335 IS t l · · · · M e n t i o n t h is a d f o r 905-337-8686 www.aaadisposal.org 2 0 % OFF p u rch a se of m ask. www.accessabilities.ca