Following a moment of stunned silence, applause echoed throughout the Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) boardroom on Feb. 10 after the business operations committee voted to keep Kenilworth Public School open.
The decision must be ratified by trustees at the board’s next regular meeting on Feb. 24.
In December the committee accepted a report from the Accommodation Review Committee (ARC), composed of parents and community members, which recommended the Kenilworth school remain open.
Then, last month the committee received a second report from UGDSB staff recommending that the school be closed.
Before debate on Tuesday night, the committee heard presentations from Ruby Lennox of the Wellington Federation of Agriculture; Julie Charbonneau and James Silva regarding the Wellington North Accommodation Review; concerned parent Mollie Loughran; and Mount Forest resident Dave Moran, who advocated for keeping Kenilworth Public School open.
A common question from trustees was how the school contributes to the rural culture of the area and how it brings the community together.
“Basically the Kenilworth school is the centre of a farming area,” said Lennox.
“It’s the same thing as if it was in the City of Guelph and it was the centre of a subdivision. It’s just the houses are spread further apart.”
Loughran said, “We have a couple of ball diamonds on the property so you can go there on a Sunday afternoon and have a pickup game of ball. It’s gravel so it’s a lot nicer than playing in the cut off corn stocks or the old hay field.”
But for some, the true impact of the Kenilworth school wasn’t clear until they heard the words of student trustee Dylan Challinor, who transferred to Ross R. McKay Public School in Hillsburgh in Grade 5 from an urban school.
“I remember walking into the school on the first day and being crowded by new classmates, my new friends – and these are still my friends,” Challinor said.
“I know at Ross R. Mckay, and I’m sure at Kenilworth as well, there is a community in that school and it is the students, it’s the teachers, it’s the school community and I think that’s what brings the community hub.”
For UGDSB chair Mark Bailey, Challinor’s argument convinced him of the importance rural schools, and the importance of looking at Kenilworth Public School through a different lens than an urban school.
“I can’t recall another decision where I have just wrestled so hard as this,” Bailey said.
“Trustee Challinor, I really appreciate your comments; you said more, I think, than you maybe realize. It could very well be that I have been looking for the wrong markers.
“I’ve been trying to look for urban school characteristics in a rural school setting and I don’t think that was right.”
Trustees were prohibited from discussing how they were planning to vote outside of committee meetings, Bailey explained, so some explanations for voting in the affirmative came as a surprise to those on the business operations committee.
Guelph trustee Susan Moziar said if the Kenilworth school closes, the board is opening up the possibility for another educational institution to purchase the property and open a private school.
“Closing Kenilworth might mean that we would lose students to other educational choices,” she said. “And having to sell Kenilworth could mean that some other institution could buy it and if they were an independent school we would lose even more students.”
But the answer was not in the affirmative for trustee Marty Fairbairn, who represents Puslinch Township and a portion of Guelph.
He said while he understands the devastation the loss of the small school atmosphere would have on Kenilworth, his concern surrounded equity.
“It seems to me that equity means everyone should have access to a quality education which includes special education, classroom experiences but with lots of peers, access to a CYC (child and youth counsellor) if necessary and so on.”
He doesn’t think that will be available at Kenilworth.
However, Orangeville trustee Barb White said equity wasn’t an issue because of the unique school atmosphere.
“This is a unique situation; this isn’t like a city school, this is a unique individual school that when you walk into it you know there is something different about this place and you can see how much those kids love being at school,” said White.
She added she wished her son could go to Kenilworth Public School because she thinks he would excel in the atmosphere.
While there was concern about capital costs required to keep the school open going forward, UGDSB staff assured the committee that if they chose to keep the school open the board would find the funds to keep it up to code.
Committee vice-chair Bruce Schieck, the trustee who represents north Wellington, closed the debate by saying he wants to improve public confidence in the school board, maintain market share and keep the students in a comfortable environment.
Schieck proposed a motion to follow the ARC recommendations and spend $650,000 on school upgrades and another $250,000 to upgrade for all day kindergarten.
The motion passed by a 9-1 recorded vote, with just Fairbairn opposed.
Bailey said he hopes the community sees the value in reinvesting in the school as well.
Trustees are expected to ratify the committee motion at the Feb. 24 board meeting.
