Parents unhappy with Grade 7-8 move

Public board wants to bus students to Crestwood

A father in Millbrook wants the public school board to conduct an “authentic” consultation about the possibility of an new intermediate school that would force his kids to make a twohour daily commute.

Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board is considering creating a Grade 7 and 8 school within Crestwood Secondary School. The idea is to alleviate overcrowding at elementary schools and fill empty seats at an unused wing of Crestwood.

The changes would affect students at Kawartha Heights Public School, MillbrookSouth Cavan Public School, North Cavan Public School and Westmount Public School.

Paul Davidson, who has sons in Grade 2 and Grade 6 in Millbrook, isn’t on board with the potential move.

“We don’t Millbrook included in this roundup of kids to populate Crestwood,” said Davidson, who is part of a group of concerned parents.

Millbrook goes up to Grade 8. Under the new proposal, students would leave after Grade 6 to go to Crestwood, heading out two years earlier.

Davidson thinks the commute is too long for Grade 7s and that KPR should get more portables to keep kids in the community instead.

There are already six portables on the Millbrook school property, and one is empty. However, Peter Mangold, KRP superintendent, said the school can’t take on any more students or portables.

“As we start to pressure schools with more portables it means that kids have less gym time, less library time, less space on the yard,” Mangold said.

Millbrook is designed to hold 445 students — it’s at 550 now. By 2028, Millbrook’s student population is expected to grow to 767, Mangold said.

Before the ministry of education would approve the build of a new school, Mangold said the empty space at Crestwood needs to be filled first.

KPR held public meetings at all the schools that would be affected and then a larger meeting at Crestwood last week.

Parents asked questions and voiced their concerns, but Davidson said he didn’t feel heard and that the board has already made its decision.

Geetika Verma, a mother of two kids at Westmount, felt the same.

“I feel it’s a done deal,” she said. Her kids are in French immersion and would have to leave Westmount to attend Adam

Scott Collegiate to stay in French for Grades 7 and 8.

However, for kids at Kawartha Heights and North Cavan (which go up to Grade 6), there’ll be one less transition. Instead of going to James Strath for Grade 7 and 8, they’d head right to Crestwood.

Although concerns of mingling high school students with intermediate students have been raised, Mangold said there’d be limited interaction.

“It’ll almost be like a school within a school,” he said.

A report with input from parents will go before KPR trustees in January and a decision is to follow by the end of the month.

If the trustees decide the intermediate school is “right thing for the community” then that’s what’ll happen, Mangold said.

But at this point, no decision has been made, he added.