Imperfect Pitch
The Ottawa Catholic School Board gave away too much
It’s never a good feeling being locked out of your own schoolyard. What makes it even harder is that the fences, padlocks, and 24-hour surveillance signs at Immaculata High School in Old Ottawa East are the result of a first-of-its-kind deal in Ottawa: one between a school board and a private partner that is licensed to make money renting out a school field on a per-hour basis outside school hours.
For years, schools have rented their gyms and fields to Brownies, Cubs, and community groups for a reasonable fee. But this deal is quite different.
Under the terms of the 21-year agreement, the Ottawa Catholic School Board (OCSB) has licensed the Immaculata field to an adult-league soccer field rental company in exchange for that company upgrading and maintaining the field for free. And what do the students get? On school days until 6 p.m. and for occasional special events outside those hours, students can use their field. And it’s a nice one: a bright green artificial turf field with pristine white lines.
In late February 2018, rumours started swirling through Old Ottawa East about the coming changes. And then came the confirmation that the OCSB had already made a deal — without consulting the community. Neighbours watched in dismay as the company’s contractor ripped up the grass last spring and installed artificial turf, lights, and fencing. The long side of the playing field butts against streets that dead-end at its edge, and several residents can reach out from their porches to touch the fence, which is a few feet from the track that encircles the field.
The company’s plan is to run three simultaneous hour-long games of seven-on-seven adult soccer played across the width of the field from 6 p.m. until 11 p.m. on weeknights, as well as all weekend. That’s 42 players every hour, three refs, and lots of whistles. High-intensity, rip-roaring fun — but shoehorned into the wrong space.
While the field was under construction, city staff belatedly realized that the school board needed a new site-plan agreement, and in an attempt to address residents’ concerns, staff proposed that the lights on the field be turned off at 9 p.m. on weeknights and 10 p.m. on weekends. This past August, the city’s planning committee reviewed and approved the site-plan agreement, including the earlier lights-out requirement.
Defiant and unrepentant, the school board instructed the prominent law firm handling this deal for them to fight the restriction on hours. The appeal is ongoing, scheduled to be heard this summer, and in the meantime the lights can stay on until 11 o’clock every night.
Two Old Ottawa East residents have filed separate complaints on the Immaculata field with the office of the provincial ombudsperson. One complaint alleges the board may have violated its own procurement policy in making the deal. The second complaint alleges the board used the Community Hubs Capital Fund to finance the track without the public consultation and transparent process required to access this provincial seed money.
A good public school is a hub where students and neighbours gather, sometimes spontaneously, and is sensitive to its neighbourhood. The OCSB is now reviled by some in the community. I don’t feel that blood-boiling anger — just the sadness and disappointment one experiences when betrayed by an old friend. The Immaculata mantra when my three kids went there was “respect.” That seems ironic to me now.
If you live close to an Ottawa high school, beware. If you are a Catholic ratepayer — I’m not anymore — you may want to question your trustee. If you live in or visit Old Ottawa East, or if you’re a future, current, or former Immaculata student who likes to play sports in your schoolyard outside school hours without paying a private company, you’re out of luck.
A good public school is a hub where students and neighbours gather, sometimes spontaneously, and is sensitive to its neighbourhood.
We are proud of this beneficial partnership with the Footy Sevens and are glad that the school’s only athletic field is now safe, improved, and accessible to our school community as well as the wider community.