Catholic boards take first steps to possible merger

by Kris Svela

WELLINGTON CTY.

Preliminary discussions are on for a possible merger of three Catholic school boards in Wellington, Bruce-Grey and Huron-Perth.

Dan Duszczyszyn, superintendent with the Wellington Catholic District School Board, confirmed talks have been initiated between the three boards.  

The talks come after the provincial education ministry indicated it would consider possible amalgamation in a bid to save money.

“In the provincial budget the government announced the possibility of school board amalgamation for September, 2013,” Duszczyszyn said.

Despite the government announcement, no details have been released around how amalgamations would be done. Duszczyszyn said the three boards are taking a proactive approach with their preliminary discussions.

“We are looking at what the possibilities of the boards to consider amalgamation (would be) and what the benefits might be.”

The Wellington board has 7,800 students, while Bruce-Grey has 3,300 and Huron-Perth has 4,200. Duszczyszyn said the three boards currently employ about 1,500 teachers and staff.

The boards are a mix of rural and urban areas, with Wellington having the largest urban centre (Guelph), while Bruce-Grey’s largest urban centre is Owen Sound and Huron-Perth’s is Stratford.

Duszczyszyn said despite the large centres, the area that would come under an amalgamated board would remain largely rural.

“We’re looking at the culture, history and demographic makeup of the boards.” The superintendent said the government’s indication of  possible mergers has not been specific about any amalgamations.

“There’s no list of school boards they’ve targeted for amalgamation,” he added.

The Wellington Catholic District School Board currently has an annual operating budget of about $80 million. If the boards proceed with an amalgamation plan, each would have to vote to proceed and a plan to merge would have to be put together and sent on to the ministry for approval. The size of a new board and how it would be governed would also be established by the ministry.

Duszczyszyn said amalgamation would also mean job losses at the senior level.

Moving ahead with a merger would have to be based, in part, on a “long-term, sustainable option.

“This may be an opportunity of doing it better.”

August 17, 2012