Carol Woodliffe said she is hopeful there’s still time to convince the Rainbow District School Board to keep Long Lake Public School open.
She said her two children, who are in Grades 3 and 4 at the school, enjoy attending classes there because it’s close to home and the large school grounds are great for outdoor activities.
However, the school board’s administrative council, made up of the board’s director of education and superintendents, recommended at a school board meeting Sept. 20 that Long Lake and Wanup Public Schools close due to low enrolment. Long Lake currently has 72 students, and Wanup 89 students.
Woodliffe, one of about two dozen people at the meeting, which was held in the auditorium at Lockerby Composite School, is a member of the accommodation review committee studying the fate of the board’s schools in the South End.
The accommodation review committee also presented options for the schools under review.
These schools include Alexander Public School, Algonquin Road Public School, Long Lake, MacLeod Public School, Monetville Public School, R.L. Beattie Public School, Wanup, Lockerby Composite School and Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School.
Although three options were developed by the committee, none were presented to the board as the committee’s preference.
One of the options recommends the closure of both Long Lake and Wanup and another the closure of just Wanup.
In the third option, both of the schools would remain open, although Wanup would be downsized and retrofitted.
The administrative council’s report, along with two of the options presented by the accommodation review committee, also propose that an addition be built onto Algonquin to house the students coming from Wanup and Long Lake.
The school board will hear public input related to the future of the schools at a board meeting Oct. 18, and a final decision will be made Nov. 15.
“(The Long Lake school community) is going to be presenting at the Oct. 18 meeting, and hopefully we can (show) that we do have some ideas to utilize the space,” Woodliffe said. “Hopefully we can show the board of trustees that Long Lake school is worth keeping.”
She said Long Lake could be used as an outdoor education centre for students from other schools, as the school grounds are often used for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.
All of the options presented by both the administrative council and the accommodation review committee include building a new “green” junior kindergarten to Grade 8 school on the MacLeod site.
The school is overcapacity, with some classes being taught in portables.
Norm Blaseg, the school board’s director of education, said he realizes the province’s tight financial situation may make it difficult for the board to acquire funding for the new school. “We’re not the only board that puts in plans (for a new school), right?” he said. “Of course, we’re mindful of that. We’re hopeful that with our business plan, we’ll be able to retrieve the dollars that are necessary.”
The administrative council’s report, along with one of the options presented by the accommodation review committee, also propose that a portion of Monetville which requires significant renovations be demolished. Monetville currently has 94 students.
Ada Della Penta, the Rainbow board’s superintendent of schools, acted as a facilitator for the accommodation review committee.
She said the committee has put in many hours of work since January, studying statistics about the schools, and taking into consideration input from the public.
Accommodation review committees normally provide a recommendation to school board, she said.
“Usually we try to come to some consensus as to which would be the most preferred,” Della Penta said. “But I certainly didn’t push them as a facilitator (to provide a recommendation). They weren’t comfortable choosing one as being preferred over the other.”
For more information on the accommodation review process and upcoming meetings, go to www.rainbowschools.ca.
Administrative council’s recommendations:
- Long Lake and Wanup close
- New “green” school be built on MacLeod site
- Monetville be downsized
- Algonquin be expanded
- No changes to Alexander, R.L. Beattie, Lockerby and Lo-Ellen
Options presents by accommodation review committee:
Option A
- Wanup closes
- New “green” school be built on MacLeod site
- Algonquin be expanded
- No changes to Alexander, R.L. Beattie, Monetville, Long Lake, Lockerby and Lo-Ellen
Option B
- Wanup downsized and retrofitted
- New “green” school be built on MacLeod site
- No changes to Alexander, Algonquin, R.L. Beattie, Monetville, Long Lake, Lockerby and Lo-Ellen
Option C
- Long Lake and Wanup close
- New “green” school be built on MacLeod site
- Algonquin be expanded
- No changes to Alexander, R.L. Beattie, Monetville, Lockerby and Lo-Ellen
