Brooks Road Public School could be forced to close its doors if the TDSB accepts the recommendations presented by the Accommodation Review Committee (ARC) at the fourth and final Meadowvale/Sheppard meeting, which was held at the school last week on Thursday, March 11.
As part of a process mandated by the provincial government, ARC meetings have been held in various Toronto communities over the past few months to address educational and enrollment issues facing public schools. The committee, which is made up of representatives from the TDSB (principals, trustees, etc.), along with parents, city councillors and other community members, came to the following conclusion:The recommendation, which was decided by a majority vote, states three schools in the Meadowvale/Sheppard ARC should remain open: Chief Dan George PS, Highcastle PS and John G Diefenbaker PS.This would mean that Brooks Road - which is operating at 81% capacity - would be closed and students would be forced to relocate to other nearby schools.It was also recommended that the French immersion program, which is only offered at Brooks Road, be made available at another area school.Talk of school closures has been the biggest concern regarding this public consultation process. When the ARC began the first step in this restructuring phase, the TDSB stated that the possibility of schools closing would remain on the table and be considered if it presented itself as the best outcome for the interests of the community.But the TDSB made it clear if schools had to be closed, that decision would only come once all things were considered after the community meetings had taken place.Tarannum Khan is the mother of two children attending Brooks Road and is on the 12-member voting committee that ultimately came up the recommendation to close the school. While she was one of the three people who was against the closure, she questions the vote because she says not all voters were present when the ballots were cast.TDSB superintendent Don McLean said the ARC followed all guidelines and procedures as outlined to them by the Ministry of Education, and that regardless of who was present, the voting had to take place."It's no different than any level of government," he said. "The voting continues, whether all members of government are present or not."Commenting on speculation that Brooks Road was chosen to close over Highcastle primarily over higher infrastructure upgrade costs, he said it was a factor, but wasn't definitive to the final recommendation. "We considered a variety of factors," he said.McLean pointed out that he couldn't offer much more insight into the reasoning behind the votes, since he wasn't part of the voting committee.While Brooks Road is facing low enrollment numbers and aging facilities, a TDSB spokesperson said the exact details of how the ARC came up with the recommendation to close the school won't be made public at this time.Still, parents like Khan want more answers."If it (the ARC process) was done more up-front and honestly, we would have accepted it (the school closure)," she said. "We wouldn't have liked it, but we would have at least understood the logic behind it."McLean said any decisions that were made were difficult, and that he's optimistic they were made in the best interests of the community.According to the most recent figures, as of September 2008, Brooks Road had 338 full-time students, but could serve a capacity of 417. John G. Diefenbaker is the only other under-enrolled school in the ARC, with 301 full-time students attending the 357 capacity facility.Highcastle, built to accommodate 297 students, is bursting at the seams with 428 pupils, and uses portables to accommodate this spillover.There is a 60-day waiting period before the TDSB votes to accept or reject the recommendations made by the ARC members. In the meantime, Khan said she is preparing to appeal the recommendations.