Public school planner Chris Smith is living out his prediction that he would one day have to stand before upset Mattamy-Townline parents whose kids would be forced to move.
That's exactly what happened Tuesday as parents gathered to voice concerns about boundary change scenarios for their children, soon to be displaced from Silverheights Pubic School because of a new subdivision in the school's catchment area.
Even before the northeast Hespeler subdivision reached the planning stage, Smith remembers warning city officials it wouldn't be viable to build a school in the area for incoming homeowners.
"I said to the city 10 years ago that I will be in front of an angry crowd one day because of this," Smith told parents at the consultation meeting at Silverheights. "There, I said it."
It's no excuse for the situation that will see some 250 students leave the Scott Road school, said Smith. But he explained that the reality is the district must find a home for them elsewhere that will minimize future transitions and keep students together. Silverheights is already operating over capacity, with six portables on site.
The first option would see Mattamy-Townline area kindergarten to Grade 6 students bused to Elgin Street Public School.
The school would build a two-storey expansion to make room. Grades 7 and 8 students would be bused to Lincoln Avenue Public School. Students just starting high school would attend Galt Collegiate Institute.
While Saginaw and Clemens Mill elementary schools are closer, both are already full.
The second scenario would see kindergarten to Grade 6 students bused to Preston's Ryerson Public School. Using $1.5 million in Ministry of Education funds recently granted to help students at Ryerson's aging structure, the district would build a 330-pupil school with on-site daycare. The site is spacious enough to allow students to be schooled in the current building during construction. Grades 7 and 8 students would attend William G. Davis Public School and then move onto Preston High School.
With both scenarios, students who have already started high school at Jacob Hespeler Secondary would be allowed to finish there.
While both options will require the 250 students to be bused roughly the same distance, a decision to move them to Ryerson could save the Preston school from potential closure. It is one of the smallest in the district, with about 100 students, steadily declining enrolment and outdated facilities.
Should students end up at Elgin, the Preston school would have to undergo a boundary review. If closed, government grants earmarked for Ryerson students would pay for renovations to accommodate them at another school.
That solution didn't sit well with some parents who attended Tuesday's meeting. One woman, who refused to give her name, lashed out, saying the Mattamy-Townline children are not only being displaced but are also being used as a Band-Aid solution for another school.
"I feel like our children are being donated to the Preston problem," she said. "If I wanted my student to go to Preston, I would have moved to Preston."
Another parent, who said she was misled about where her kids would go to school when she purchased her home in the Mattamy subdivision, questioned why only her community's kids are being uprooted.
"What's in it for them?" asked Kendra Baillie-Meredith, who has an 11-year-old at Silverheights.
Many, however, gave a thumbs-up to redirecting the 250 students to Ryerson.
Jennifer Coady, whose sons, Jordan and Andrew, attend Ryerson, welcomed the displaced Hespeler students.
"I think it would be a good thing for kids to come to Ryerson," she said. "It would provide some stability for everyone."
Many parents also expressed concern about time children will spend on the bus, day care issues and yet more school changes when students move into the Grade 7-8, junior high schools. Some were worried about their children moving to Ryerson, which borders on contaminated grounds created when trichloroethylene or TCE, a cleaning agent used by a local manufacturer, was discovered in groundwater.
However, Smith said the school undergoes strict testing and assured that it is not affected.
School planners have been collecting input from parents over recent weeks as part of redrawing the Hespeler and Preston school boundaries. Planners will make a recommendation to school board trustees who will make the final decision.
Parents are invited to attend a May 6 meeting to offer feedback as well as to get answers to questions regarding grandfathering situations.
