THURSDAY, JUNE 23 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDS CLOSURE OF THOMAS A. STEWART SECONDARY SCHOOL; RETENTION OF BUILDING FOR SPECIALIZED SCHOOL AND RELOCATED EDUCATION CENTRE

Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board Trustees tonight received for information a report from administration, as part of the City of Peterborough Secondary Schools – Group Pupil Accommodation Review, with recommended courses of action including: the closure of Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School, the phasing out, over two years, of Kenner Intermediate School, beginning in September 2012, the creation of a specialized school at the Thomas A. School site, relocation of the Board’s existing Education Centre to share the Thomas A. School site, and disposal of the Board’s property at Fisher Drive.

At tonight’s meeting, Trustees also approved a budget for the next school year, and received a report detailing recent disposal of surplus properties.

City of Peterborough Secondary Schools – Group Pupil Accommodation Review

In its report to Board Trustees tonight, and as part of the accommodation review process, administration included the following the most preferred course of action:

• The closure of Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School, effective September 2012.

• The phasing out, over two years, of Kenner Intermediate School, beginning in September 2012. Keith Wightman Pubic School, Otonabee Valley Public School, and Roger Neilson Public School would move to a Kindergarten to Grade 7 model in September, 2012, and to Kindergarten to Grade 8 by September, 2013.

• The re-purposing, contingent upon feasibility, of the Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School site to house the Board’s Education Centre, as well as be the home for a specialized school learning environment for elementary and secondary students.

This specialized school will be focused on intensive science/technology and environmental science programing for students from across our jurisdiction. The school will also allow for experiential learning opportunities for Grade 7 and 8 students, as well as a combined staff and student leadership centre.

• The disposal of the Board’s property at 1994 Fisher Drive, Peterborough ON. Further enhancements to existing Peterborough secondary school facilities will be explored.

(For further details, please see Backgrounder document below)

“The closure of a school is the most difficult choice a Trustee must ever consider. We believe that each of our schools, and the staff and students that make them so special, are worth celebrating,” says Diane Lloyd, Chairperson of the Board. “Having said that, based on declining enrolment we have experienced for a number of years, we are in the unenviable position of making just such a difficult choice. As a board we will consider the options suggested by administration this evening, and make a final decision at our September meeting.”

“This is a very, very challenging and difficult task. No one wants to close a school, least of all those of us who make education their life's work,” says Rusty Hick, Director of Education. “However, we are charged with a great responsibility to provide the best possible education to all of our students in a manner that effectively considers the stewardship of our resources. To that end, we have to look after and manage our resources now and with an eye to the future.”

Hick continues.

“We also appreciate how difficult and stressful a time this is for the students, staff and parents of the affected schools, most specifically those within the Thomas A. Stewart school community.”

The report also includes alternative and least preferred courses of action.

Alternative courses of action:

• Closure of Peterborough Collegiate Vocational School, with dispersal of students as detailed in scenario within Section 9. above.

• Retention of Peterborough Collegiate Vocational School site for use in providing alternative student programming.

Least preferred course of action:

• Closure of Adam Scott Collegiate Vocational School or Kenner Collegiate Vocational Institute.

“Trustees will, of course, ultimately make the final decision on this issue. On behalf of administration, I believe we have brought forward a concept that endeavours to provide a positive solution that will not only retain a tremendous asset, but continue to make that asset available for student and community use,” says Hick.

“In terms of the recommendations submitted tonight by administration, there are some interesting, and potentially worthwhile courses of action that have been put forward,” says Lloyd. “We will look forward to further information related to these suggested courses of action, and Trustees will take the time to consider this significant decision as work toward our September board meeting.”

The next steps in the accommodation review process are as follows:

• August 25, 2011 Regular Board meeting: administration will provide an updated report to the Board will further information in support of the June 23, 2011 recommended courses of action.

• September 29, 2011 Regular Board meeting: the Board, in accordance with its policy, and provincial regulation, is scheduled to consider a school for possible closure.

Budget 2011/2012

Acting upon a recommendation from its Budget Committee, Trustees tonight approved an operating budget of $377,664,448, and Capital Budget in the amount of $24,970,503, for the next school year, in compliance with Ministry of Education requirements.

“We’re pleased that we have been able to collectively come together and arrive at a budget that places students’ interests and needs first,” says Diane Lloyd, Chairperson of the Board.

Lloyd adds:

“We know that, as a school board, our success is derived from the efforts and diligence of our staff and, with this budget, we have been able to retain existing staffing levels, based on our enrolment. It is also important to note that, despite funding reductions, we will continue to dedicate more to support our students with special needs than we are allocated.”

The budget includes additional funding to support a number of key areas of focus for the Board, including:

• $1M to expand the reading recovery program launched last year. The Reading Recovery program dedicates specially trained teachers to work one-to-one with low-achieving first graders – the students who are not catching on to the complex set of concepts that make reading and writing possible.
• over $51M to support students with Special Needs.
• a Capital Budget of $24,970,503. Capital projects are brought forward to the Board for approval on an individual basis, with funds dedicated to capital building/school improvement projects. Projected spending on approved projects for 2011-2012 include: continued implementation of the Instructional Technology Plan, school improvements as part of the provincial Early Learning Program; and construction of two new schools to replace the existing: Ontario Street P.S., Bowmanville; and Brighton Public School, Brighton.

Capitol Dispersal Update

According to Board Policy No. BA-6.5, Surplus Property – Disposal/Rental,
where future Board need is not indicated, disposition of surplus property shall be
effected in due course, subject to Board approval and in accordance with Ministry
of Education regulations.

For the period January 1 to May 31, 2011, the following three surplus properties
have been sold, and the transactions completed:

“These properties have been surplus to us for some time, and any conditions involved with their sale have now been resolved,” says Lloyd.

Other decisions
Trustees also:

• approved, as part of the Resource Committee Report, school boundary revisions for the northwest Bowmanville area, and policy revisions.
• an updated Homework policy to reflect provincial directives regarding Assessment, Evaluation and Reporting
• received for information the Board’s Community Report Card Vol. 8, “Through the Eyes of a Child”
• approved awards and scholarships
• received a number of public delegations

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For more information, please call:

Diane Lloyd, Board Chairperson, at 1 705 536 0955

Greg Kidd, Communications Officer - Public & Corporate Affairs, at 705-742-9773 or toll-free at 877-741-4577, ext. 2353

Backgrounder

City of Peterborough Secondary Schools
Group Pupil Accommodation Review-

ADMINISTRATION REPORT: June 23, 2011 Board Meeting

As part of the next step in the City of Peterborough Secondary Schools Group Pupil Accommodation Review, Board administration presented a report to the Board of Trustees, at the June 23, 2011 Board meeting.

This administrative report includes a number of recommended courses of action for the Board to consider, prior to a final decision being made at the September 29, 2011 Board meeting.

Included below are the recommendations from administration, as well as the key considerations that have contributed to their development.

Recommendations

Preferred Course of Action

• The closure of Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School, effective September 2012.

• The phasing out, over two years, of Kenner Intermediate School, beginning in September 2012. Keith Wightman Pubic School, Otonabee Valley Public School, and Roger Neilson Public School would move to a Kindergarten to Grade 7 model in September, 2012, and to Kindergarten to Grade 8 by September, 2013.

• The re-purposing, contingent upon feasibility, of the Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School site to house the Board’s Education Centre, as well as be the home for a specialized school learning environment for elementary and secondary students.

• This specialized school will be focused on intensive science/technology and environmental science programing for students from across our jurisdiction. The school will also allow for experiential learning opportunities for Grade 7 and 8 students, as well as a combined staff and student leadership centre.

• The disposal of the Board’s property at 1994 Fisher Drive, Peterborough ON. Further enhancements to existing Peterborough secondary school facilities will be explored.

Alternative courses of action:

• Closure of Peterborough Collegiate Vocational School, with dispersal of students as detailed in scenario within Section 9. above.

• Retention of Peterborough Collegiate Vocational School site for use in providing alternative student programming.

Least preferred course of action:

• Closure of Adam Scott Collegiate Vocational School or Kenner Collegiate Vocational Institute.

Elementary School Impacts

The preferred course of actions involves the following possible changes for elementary schools within the Thomas A. Stewart cachment area.

The alternative courses of actions involves the following possible changes for elementary schools within the Peterborough Collegiate Vocational school cachment area.

• Keith Wightman Pubic School, Otonabee Valley Public School, and Roger Neilson Public School would move to a Kindergarten to Grade 7 model in September, 2012, and to Kindergarten to Grade 8 by September, 2013, with the phasing out of Kenner Intermediate school beginning in September, 2012.

Key Considerations

The preferred course of action to close Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School is based on the following key considerations:

- current and projected enrolment

- location (not projected as growth area)

- location in connection with other four schools

- best choice for dispersal of enrolment

- most significant impact on On The Ground Capacity (OTG)

- highest possible resale (highest value for retention as part of re-purposing)

Students will have the opportunity to attend a composite school should they so choose.

A re-purposing of the Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School site is based on the following key considerations:

- ability to “land-bank” the asset with the most valuable and unique physical attributes for student use

- the retention of the property would provide capacity for future enrolment growth if realized

- the property would be retained to provide unique learning opportunities for Board elementary students from across the jurisdiction, as well as new and emerging community partnerships

- allows the Board to retain a school site while still downsizing capacity (with relocation and sale of existing Education Centre)

The phasing out of Kenner Intermediate School, over a two year period beginning in September 2012, with Grade 7 and 8 students remaining within their respective elementary schools, is based on the following key considerations:

- maintains long-term viability of Kenner Collegiate Vocational Institute elementary feeder schools

- contributes to reduction of secondary school capacity

- retains space at Kenner Collegiate Vocational Institute for future use

Vision for the Future

The vision for a re-purposed Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School site includes, but is not limited to, the following:

- extensive student use, both elementary and secondary, of internal and external building assets, including auditorium, gymnasium, technology facilities, athletic fields, greenhouse, and others.

- development of specialized student programming within the science curriculum, maximizing use of the external geography of the school site (island/water access) to focus on environmental science.

- new and expanded community use partnerships of the building facility, including gymnasiums, auditorium and athletic fields, with exploration of enhancement to the athletic fields for expanded joint use agreements.

- emergent partnerships with Fleming College and Trent University to facilitate model “Classrooms of the Future” in connection with respective Early Childhood Education and Teacher Education program.

- relocation of Education Centre to school site provides for designated facility for staff professional development activities.

- relocation of Education Centre provides central staff increased opportunity for more direct connection with students and stakeholders.

- opportunity for enrichment/immersive science or technology programming activities for students from across the Board.