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THE LESSER REPORT: Amalgamate school boards; unthinkable?
He believes that only the Catholic Schools should be funded while JohnTory, Leader of the Opposition, Progressive Conservatives, wants to fund all faith-based schools in Ontario. For many years the province covered Roman Catholic students' education costs to the end of Grade 10. The parents picked up the tab for Grades 11-13. Conservative leader Bill Davis changed the formula in 1985 for Catholic students to have their entire secondary school education fully funded. Tory may want to take note that Davis subsequently lost the next election. The London District Catholic School Board (LDSCB) is in financial difficulty with their costs – a $3.3 million, budget shortfall then their grants structure from the Ontario Ministry of Education. Last year, as my memory serves me, LDCSB was doing well while the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) was faced with the reality of closing schools and cutting back on bussing and programs. The TVDSB continues to face the pressure of more than 11,000 excess classroom spaces based on the Ministry of Education's calculations. The LDCSB is presently facing a slight decline in its elementary school enrollment while at the same time its secondary school space allotment is 1.5 schools short of the need. Folks I have a very simple solution to the monetary/enrollment problems faced by our two boards of education in the area. How about we think about the unthinkable and amalgamate the two boards into one entity? I know some of you will want to quote the British North America Act that guaranteed funding for Catholic education. The province of Quebec, at one time had four autonomous boards of education. They now have only two, English and French. Newfoundland had a total of seven religious boards of education to administer the education of their declining population; that has now been cut to one. Recently the TVDSB was able to blend the three counties of Elgin, Middlesex and Oxford into the present public school board structure. Think about the savings that twinning the boards would bring: one Director of Education instead of the present two; one set of trustees instead of the two meeting in one education centre – trustees Paul Whitehead and Terry Roberts sitting at the same table to solve the present concerns of declining enrollments regardless of religion. Take a drive on Viscount Road west of Wonderland and you will discover Saunder's secondary school with its feeder school, Westmount (both TVDSB), right next door to Jean Vanier (LDCSB), with two staffs under the auspices of two boards of education. Why? We don't have to have two bus systems, two sets of board personal duplicating each others efforts to provide a viable education for our youth. A blending of religions under one beautiful umbrella would do wonders in breaking down negative stereotypes. Jews, Moslems, Catholics, Christians, students appreciating each others faiths as classmates should be the norm. I believe that we need one well publicly funded responsible public school system for all of our students regardless of diversity. Take a moment of your time parents and ask your children if they are concerned about their classmates religious beliefs. Perhaps the imminent threat of closing of schools in the community is more important. Heck, the students have enough problems trying to cope with the new university rigorous Math/Physics curriculum. To affect positive change we need your input. Please contact your area trustee and MPP and discuss the matter. Remember it's your hard earned taxes that fund our education system. -- -- -- -- Len Lesser is a freelance writer and education/career counselor living in London. Opinions are those of the author. Contact Len by e-mail (see link), and visit his website (see link). E-MAIL: Len Lesser WEB: Len Lesser Consulting |
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