One spared, six closed despite parents’ pleas

Ottawa’s largest school board began the long, tortuous process of ridding itself of half-empty buildings with the decision Wednesday to close six schools in the west end of the city.

The vote comes after six months of debate and save-our-school campaigns.

Five schools will close in September: Leslie Park and Century, both English-only elementary schools with declining enrolment; Grant Alternative School; and D. Aubrey Moodie and Greenbank Middle Schools, which were targeted because the board has decided to get rid of that grade configuration.

“It was a done deal,” said dejected parent Gemma Nicholson, who had fought to keep Century PS open. Students there will be sent to Carleton Heights PS.

The sixth school — J.H. Putman Middle School — will close in about two years, as soon as the province provides money to build an addition to house intermediate students at Agincourt Road PS.

Most trustees supported the closures, although they tinkered with a few details.

Several Putman parents, for instance, suggested the flow of students should not be choked off as the school awaits closure, as originally recommended.

“Our children are still there for two years,” said parent Janice Felman. “Please don’t treat us as if the school is already closed.”

Trustees agreed to an amendment that would increase the number of students directed to Putman until it closes.

Only one school from the original staff closure list of seven was spared: Regina Street PS, which will be transformed into an alternative school with a specialty in outdoor education.

Over three evenings of debate that began last month, it was clear most trustees felt they had little choice but to close schools, given the board’s financial problems and pressure from the province, which is anxious to stop paying for empty pupil spaces.

The closures are part of a package that also includes program and boundary changes at many of the 26 west-end schools that were part of the “accommodation review.”

One of the most notable changes to programming is the expansion of three high schools — Bell, Merivale and Sir Robert Borden — to includes grades 7 to 12. Some parents had expressed concern about mixing younger and older students. Staff said renovations are planned to create space for the younger students.

At the English Catholic board, high schools already follow that configuration.

During public meetings, many parents warned trustees it would be short-sighted to close schools that may be needed later as populations shift. Others mounted passionate pleas on behalf of neighbourhood schools. On March 7, trustees make a final decision on whether to close Rideau High School. That debate has been divisive and emotional, with supporters warning that vulnerable kids from low-income, refugee, aboriginal, Inuit and Metis backgrounds will be hurt if the school closes.

Over the next five years, trustees plan accommodation reviews in areas across the district, with the Alta Vista area up next.