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11 · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, June 12, 2009 Oakville Residents for Public Education On June 17th, our Halton District School Board Trustees have the opportunity to end almost 20 years of instability in the elementary public schools of South East Oakville. For years, Ward 3 has faced two problems: excess capacity in South East Oakville, and the absence of a local school in Clearview, as the Cooke report stated. The School Board recently resolved the Clearview issue when it voted to build a new JK-8 dual track school for that community. Next week, our Trustees will meet to vote on staff recommendations that would create a plan for South East Oakville. We support these recommendations because they: · Provide the majority of the community with geographically balanced, `walk to' schools, by keeping and renovating 3 schools; one in the East, West and Central areas of South East Oakville o This means less school busing of students and no busing across Royal Windsor/Cornwall for the elementary grades to fill schools. Addresses the problem of excess capacity. Put a focus on students and quality education o o o Critical mass of intermediate students for optimal programming. Single track French Immersion programming at the elementary level. Eliminates barrier to extra-curricular before and after school activities. · · Nearly a year ago, the Board made a decision to close four schools, which became the focus of overwhelming opposition in our community. The Minister of Education appointed a facilitator, Dave Cooke, to review the decision. He concluded that the Board's decision to close four schools in South East Oakville had been seriously flawed ­ both in its process and in its outcome. He also concluded, "the Board needs to understand that Public Education is a partnership with parents and the community and this partnership needs to be nurtured and respected." The current recommendations reflect the hard work of Board staff and community participants in building that relationship since Facilitator Cooke's report. While we have been critical of the most recent consultation process, it represents a crucial first step toward restoring the partnership between our community and the Board. While closing three schools in South East Oakville is a regrettable compromise for our community, we believe that the recommendations are good for students, good for public education, good for the community and deserve our support. We urge trustees to support the recommendations of the report from the Administrative Council. Oakville Residents for Public Education with the support of, Oakville Lakeside Residents Association Trafalgar-Chartwell Residents Association Joshua Creek Ratepayers Association Chartwell-Maple Grove Residents Association We represent over 6,300 households and 17,900 residents. www.myoakville.org