A current boundary review for Catholic elementary schools in Bradford has some parents anxious and upset knowing some of their children will be forced to move schools come September 2022.
On Tuesday night, residents were invited to take part and tune in to a virtual public input session hosted by the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic School Board's Boundary Review Committee about the current Boundary Review Process in Bradford West Gwillimbury.
A Boundary Review Committee is made up of a School Superintendent (Chair), Area Trustee(s), Principal(s), Planning, Simcoe County Student Transportation Consortium (SCSTC), and Catholic School Community Council Chairs.
With the municipality's rapid growth and the replacement of St. Charles Catholic Elementary School in the south end of Bradford this fall, the board says a boundary review was necessary to consider current enrolment, capacity and development pressures.
Some of the objectives are to balance school enrolment and capacity and minimize busing and maximize walk zones while considering projected development and enrolment.
In July 2016, the board received funding approval to build a replacement school for St. Charles, to accommodate 470 students. The new school will also include a three-room child care centre.
The board is looking at four different options to accommodate the new school and balance the rest of the student population at each of the five Bradford Catholic elementary schools, St. Marie of the Incarnation, St. Charles Replacement School, St. Angela Merici, St. Jean de Brebeuf and St. Teresa of Calcutta.
The boundary review looks at seven different study areas that would be affected by the changes.
Option 1
Would impact 190 current students by:
- Moving study area B to St. Jean de Brebeuf
- Moving study area D to St. Teresa of Calcutta
- Moving study areas E and G to St. Charles
Option 2
Would impact 238 current students by:
- Moving study area A to St. Jean de Brebeuf
- Moving study area D to St. Teresa of Calcutta
- Moving study areas E and G to St. Charles
Option 3
Would impact 252 current students by:
- Moving study area B to St. Jean de Brebeuf
- Moving study areas C and D to St. Teresa of Calcutta
- Moving study areas E and G to St. Charles
Option 4
Would impact 215 current students by:
- Moving study area F to St. Jean de Brebeuf
- Moving study areas C and D to St. Teresa of Calcutta
- Moving study areas E and G to St. Charles
Three parent speakers who had previously registered to speak at the meeting addressed the board with their concerns. All speakers were members of the St. Angela Merici school community in Grand Central, those living in Study Area 'G'.
In all the options, their children would have to transfer to the new St. Charles school, three kilometres from their neighbourhood.
Parent Christopher Pacheco was the first to address the committee on Tuesday.
"We are a non-bus school, less than a km away from St. Angela and now going to be a bus school three kilometres away to St. Charles. But in the boundary review (objectives), it says you want to maximize walking and less bussing. What's the point?" he questioned.
He says he and his wife bought their house with the intention of sending their children to the nearby school. His older daughter already attends and hopes to send his youngest there as well.
"My daughter is getting a good education, she thrives there, we bought this house based on her going to that school. We didn't plan to go to St. Charles," he said. "At the end of the day, I don't feel comfortable uprooting my daughter's life."
He asked if there was a possibility to get an exemption from the transfer.
"I will do whatever it takes to make sure my kids stay at St. Angela," he said.
Local father Danny Pertucci lives 400 metres from St. Angela Merici and is frustrated with the possibility that his children may have to now spend a half-hour or more on a bus to get to St. Charles School.
"That to me blows me away," he said. "Logistically that makes no sense."
He blamed the school board for not planning accordingly for population growth before the school was built.
"It's not my issue that you didn't plan ahead with housing," he said. "My kids and other kids should not be used as your mandate because you don't want to open St. Charles a quarter full. I am not going to put my kids on a bus."
A mom of three boys and active parent volunteer at St. Angela, was the last to speak.
"We have truly become a family," she said of her and her children's relationship with the school community. "To tell 120 kids they are no longer a part of the family, please consider the impact."
She asked the board to outweigh the risks and the benefits of their decision. She brought forward a few of her own suggestions, including giving the students the option to stay at the school until graduation.
"If this is about budget, remove our bus," she recommended, noting the school only has one, and any students who depend on it could transfer to St. Charles.
"This is not the year to force students to go to a new school," she said, pointing out the constant disruptions students have already experienced in the past two years due to the pandemic. "I can say confidently that this pandemic has made our current friendships a lifeline. Please don't ask our children to make new friends in a new school community with makes and social distancing."
She ended her delegation with a reminder of the SMCDSB's theme for 2021/2022: "Believe better together".
The Boundary Review Committee thanked the speakers for their feedback.
The ThoughtExchange Consultation survey is currently open for parents to take online until Feb. 4. Another meeting will be held by the Boundary Review Committee on Feb. 9 to review and discuss the concerns and comments raised at the public meeting and prepare its recommendation to present to the board on Feb. 28.
To learn more and to take part in the survey, visit the school board's website here.
