Sixth public school added to list of planned closures

Public school trustees have recommended that J.H. Putman middle school close within the next few years, dashing the hopes of parents who hoped it would be spared.

That brings to six the number of schools in the west end of Ottawa on the chopping block as the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board tries to trim empty student spaces.

Trustees agreed with the staff recommendation that Putman be closed as soon as an addition can be built to house the students at Agincourt elementary. The board will makes its final decision on school closures in early March, but changes are not expected since all the trustees sit on the committee that made the closure recommendations at meetings held Monday and Tuesday.

“I’m mad,” said Gina Bies, one of the disappointed Putman parents at Tuesday’s meeting.

She had proposed several detailed alternatives to board staff, but the closure appeared to be a “done deal,” she said.

Parent Janice Felman, whose son, Saul, is in Grade 6, said it was disappointing, especially since trustees had spared one other school on the closure list — Regina Street PS, which they recommended be turned into an alternative school.

“It’s not the end of the world. We fought a good fight. Our kids will still learn, it will just be a different experience.”

Parents had mounted a spirited campaign to save Putman, holding rallies and lobbying trustees.

There’s a strong culture and sense of community at the school.

Trustee Anita Olsen Harper, who represents the ward, said it would be a shame to close a school that is beloved by parents and students. She also warned about the “optics” of closing a school that is not under-enrolled only to spend money on an addition to house the students at another school.

Staff explained that the Putman closure was part of a complicated package. Keeping the school open would disrupt other related program changes planned for schools in the neighbourhood, such as expanding Woodroffe Avenue PS to go up to Grade 8.

Retaining the school would also cut into the overall goal of reducing the 3,800 empty student spaces in the west end of the city.

The board is also trying to adjust to the increasing number of parents choosing French immersion for their children. The dwindling number of students in the English program are spread among several schools in the west end.

Trustee Donna Blackburn said it’s painful to close schools, but the savings will help ensure the board doesn’t have to cut teachers,

It’s not the end of the world. We fought a good fight. Our kids will still learn, it will just be a different experience.

social workers, psychologists and ESL teachers. “What will we have to cut if this school remains open?”

On Monday, trustees recommended the closure of Century and Leslie Park, two under-enrolled schools that offer the English program; Grant Alternative school, also suffering from shrinking enrolment; and Greenbank and D. Aubrey Moodie middle schools.

They recommended Regina Street Public School remain open and be converted to an alternative school with a focus on environmental education.