Looking for visionaries at school board

DR. JIM MURRAY
Embrace change … make it work CONTACT JIM
LOOKING FOR VISIONARIES AT SCHOOL BOARD

The Flamborough Post
For new schools to be built, old schools must be replaced.
Twenty-nine schools within the Hamilton-Wentworth public school system are now more than 70 years old. Six are between 100-150 years old. The normal life cycle of a school structure is about 50 years. Yet only one new school has been built over the past six years (another is slated to open in September of next year). And to do that, the money came from within the existing educational budget rather than additional funding from the province.
Many of our public schools have poor air quality, building and fire code violations, leaky roofs, old heating systems, asbestos, mould, and other debilitating conditions that accompany an aging infrastructure. Clearly, there is an urgent need for system revitalization.
With the right plan in place, we could: build new schools at a much quicker pace, perhaps even one new school every year; renovate and refurbish schools that are badly in need of repair and upgrades to ensure children have a healthy and safe learning environment; have more principals, teachers and resource personnel relocated to consolidated schools; improve student achievement in literacy, maths and sciences.
Without a compelling vision of what can be, a well-conceived plan of action to make it happen, stakeholder leadership and commitment to action, such an accomplishment cannot be realized. And that alternative future is surely an unacceptable option for this community, its children and their children.
When school boards have low enrollments, they are deemed by the Ministry of Education to be "undercapacity." As a consequence, no new funding is made available to build new schools. Furthermore, children can find themselves in classrooms that are double and even triple graded, as is the case currently in some schools in Hamilton-Wentworth.
Your public school board is currently 4,800 students under the government's rated capacity for enrollment in Hamilton's 135 school buildings. Some schools, which are also in need of renovation and repair, are functioning at less than a third of capacity.
I can empathize with the parents of children who are faced with the relocation of their neighbourhood schools. They have put their heart and soul into the fight and I commend them for their passion and their preparation. But their focus is squarely on current economics rather than the future educational needs of their children's children. The issue for many trustees and parents alike seems to be either "not in my back yard" or "not now."
I recently met with a "save-our-school" group consisting of nine parents. I was left to wonder, given the sorry state of the school in question, where is the "silent majority" viewpoint? Where lies the responsibility for doing the right thing? In life, we often get caught up in the fight for a cause and end up losing perspective on the consequences. New schools make quality education a reality, rather than a distant goal. When one tours Allan A. Greenleaf in Waterdown, one comes away with a sense of excitement.
When resources are limited and when government funding is designated for certain types of expenditures, the only acceptable and prudent response is to have in place a strategic plan of action. That must address population patterns and demographic shifts, reduce the dollars spent on maintenance-intensive buildings, provide adequate and proper resources for every classroom, and ensure that learning programs are available at all schools.
My sole focus is on the integrity, stability and quality of the public school system. As such, I genuinely believe school renewal to be a critical issue confronting this community. It is a vision that can and will be achieved when the community, following appropriate analysis and debate, holds its educational leaders accountable for system renewal and revitalization.

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