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Parents win concession for Sacred Heart option

Parents attending the meeting expressed concerned that the five options prepared by the ARC all call for the closure of Sacred Heart School
Glen Sheculski
Glen Sheculski, Chair of the Pupil Accommodation Review Committee, fields questions at a public meeting held at Sacred Heart School. Frank Giorno for TimminsToday

An option to retain Sacred Heart Catholic School will be considered when deciding the future of Catholic schools in Timmins, promised Glen Sheculski, chair of the Accommodation Review Committee, last night at a public meeting held at the school.

Parents attending the meeting expressed concerned that the five options prepared by the ARC all call for the closure of Sacred Heart School.

The preferred option (Option E) called for the closure of Sacred Heart and the creation of a kindergarten to Grade 4 English and French Immersion school at St. Paul’s school and a Grade 5 to 8 English and French Immersion school at O’Gorman Intermediate Catholic School.

A second option (Option A) called for the building of a “super school” housing 400 pupil school at 383 Birch St. North.

Two parents said they had chosen Sacred Heat specifically because it was smaller than a nearby public school and because of its French immersion program.

“I like a smaller school,” said one mother whose child went to Sacred Heart. “That is why I chose Sacred Heart instead of a larger school like Centennial Public School.”

Sheculski acknowledged that there is something to be said about the preference of parents for a smaller school for the younger grades.

However, he noted that the choice is out of the Catholic School Board’s hands because it is being forced by the province’s decision to cut future funding.

Father John Lemire, the pastor of Sacred Heart Catholic Church, wanted to know why all the options have Sacred Heart closing and the rationale behind that decision.

“When you have a consultation process, you consider the whole ambit of possibilities,” Father Lemire said. “But you had not one option that considers keeping Sacred Heart open.”

Father Lemire pointed out that Sacred Heart Church was operated at a lower cost than the other schools.

The information provided by the ARC showed that Sacred Heart School costs $32.36 per square meter, or $523.16 per student to operate while St. Paul’s School costs $42.47 per square meter, or $560.46.

Sheculski explained that Sacred Heart School had many constraints that made it less desirable for future use, beginning with the small lot size of 1.49 acres which would restrict future growth.

St. Paul’s has 3.09 acres and is adjacent to the ACCESS Centre with an additional 4.2 acres which contains plenty of land for future growth.

In addition, Sheculski said Sacred Heart has accessibility issues.

The age of the two schools was also a factor.

Sacred Heart was built in 1936 and is 80 years old, whereas St. Paul was built in the 1960s.

Father Lemire also raised the proximity of Sacred Heart School to Sacred Heart Church and the pastoral care that has historically been provided.

“With the proposed new configuration, how would the schools align with church parishes?” Father Lemire asked.

Sheculski said that was a matter he hoped Bishop Serge Poitras would help provide guidance on the issue.

Louis Clausi, the president of the Ontario Catholic English Teacher’s Association, said he understood the attachment people have towards Sacred Heart being a former student.

But he noted that the Catholic School Board had been placed in a difficult position by the Ministry of Education with their decision to decrease funding over the next three years due to declining enrollments.

“Sometimes you have to make decisions that are tough, and sometimes you have to close a school,” Clausi said.

“I would hope we could explore the building of a new school,” he added. “I think we have to dream and go after it aggressively.”

Clausi noted that moving forward with the option that called for a new Kindergarten to Grade 6 school would be a plus for the Catholic School Board as the public school board was considering a Kindergarten to Grade 12 school in South Porcupine.

Increasing the size of student population by amalgamating students in a larger school would provide increased funding for the school and also expansion and modernization.

Better school programs will be possible, he told the members of the public.

In 2014 the District School Board Ontario Northeast closed Frank Krznaric Whitney Public School because of declining enrollment and the need to cut costs.

The next ARC public meeting will be held on March 8, 2016 at O’Gorman Intermediate Catholic School.

Recommendations based on feedback obtained from public consultation will be presented to the Catholic School Board Trustees in May.

Sheculski said implementation of a preferred option would likely not take place by the opening of the 2016-2017 school year in September and may take over a year to enact.

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Frank Giorno

About the Author: Frank Giorno

Frank Giorno worked as a city hall reporter for the Brandon Sun; freelanced for the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star. He is the past editor of www.mininglifeonline.com and the newsletter of the Association of Italian Canadian Writers.
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