King George students may spend 2019-20 school year at Ridpath school in Lakefield
Public meeting being held Monday to discuss possible move
King George Public School principal Marguerite Masterson said the light at the end of the tunnel should far outweigh the negatives of busing students to Lakefield next school year.
On Wednesday, the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board announced plans to bus students to the vacant Ridpath Public School in Lakefield for the 2019-20 year while construction of a new $18-million elementary school at the King George site on Hunter Street East is underway.
On Wednesday afternoon, King George parents were notified of the news in a letter sent home with students, outlining why the decision was made.
In the letter, Jack Nigro, superintendent of education, explained the decision to bus students to Ridpath was based on safety.
Initially, the school board had planned to keep King George students in the existing school while construction of the new school took place. The new school is scheduled to open in September 2020.
“As we have worked through the design and site preparation phases of this project, it has become clear that it is not possible to safely keep students and staff in the King George building while the new school is being built,” Nigro stated in the letter.
“The challenges associated with building on the King George site are significant. They include: steep grades, drainage and site preparation work, and heavy equipment traffic combined with bus and normal parent and city traffic. Together, these challenges will create an unacceptable safety risk for students, staff and the community during the construction period.”
Masterson said overall she’s received positive feedback from parents and from the students. She added some kids are really excited about taking a bus.
Diane Lloyd, chairwoman of the public school board, likened it to an adventure for the kids.
“From the students’ point of view it will be a great adventure to go to a new community for a year and come back to a lovely new school,” she said.
Lloyd knows there will be those who oppose the decision, but she said the decision was based on safety concerns. Several options were explored before the board decided on Ridpath, she said.
In a question-and-answer document sent to parents with the letter, it reads the school board extensively reviewed a number of options to accommodate the King George school community before making the decision.
The options included:
• Keeping some or all of the King George school community in the existing school building throughout the construction process.
• Housing the students in the former Monseigneur-Jamot school site on Romaine Street, in Peterborough.
• Combining the King George and Armour Heights communities within Armour Heights and Ridpath school sites.
Ultimately the board decided to send the kids to Ridpath while the new school is being built. To do this, the board said it will bus all students to the Lakefield school each day from bus stops near their homes.
Lloyd said the board will be working closely with Student Transportation Services of Central Ontario (STSCO) to work out busing details including pickup and drop-off locations. As for the cost, she wasn’t sure what it would be.
Greg Kidd, senior manager, corporate affairs with the board, said the additional busing costs will be looped into the existing operational fees of the board.
The board won’t know the cost until all routes are finalized, he said. That work will be ongoing until spring.
“The next step is to plot out where the bus routes and stops will be to transport the students,” Kidd said.
Other issues will also arise as details are ironed out, he said.
One concern is before- and after-school care used by many King George parents. The board has already solved that problem by planning to use Armour Heights Public School for the service. Students that use the service will be bused to and from that school.
Another concern relates to families that may not have a vehicle and are required to pick up a sick child from school.
“All of the problems will be solved, we know it’s an unusual situation to bus kids into another community,” Lloyd said. “We’re just lucky we had this school (Ridpath) ready in good shape.”
In the letter to parents the school board said Ridpath, on Ermatinger Street, is move-in ready. It was vacated last year when students moved into Lakefield District Public School — the site of the former high school.
“(It) has a broad playground with plenty of green space for safe play and outdoor learning, and is located within a quiet neighbourhood. Until December 2017, it was and remains a fully functioning school building,” Nigro said.
At the end of the day principal Masterson said the concerns parents have will be addressed. She added they will also attempt to alleviate any anxiety students may have by planning field trips to Ridpath next spring to familiarize students with the school.
“It’s part of the journey and adventure and we want to make sure our kids are safe throughout the whole process,” Masterson said. “And it’s an opportunity for us to demonstrate resiliency for our students.”
For more information about the school board’s decision, the King George community is invited to an information meeting on Monday at 6 p.m. at King George Public School on Hunter Street East.
Parents may submit questions ahead of the meeting to eastcityschool@kprschools.ca or kpr_info@kprdsb.ca.