Parents react to proposal to move Grade 7,8 students into high schools in Brant Haldimand Norfolk

Some parents in Paris are concerned following a proposal made by the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board (BHNCDSB)– which would see Grade, 7 and 8 students move into high school institutions.

Hundreds of signatures fill the sheets of a petition to keep students in elementary schools.

Allison Langille’s child attends one of the four elementary schools who would be impacted by this change.

“At the end of the day, our schools are overcrowded and amount of growth that is happening in Paris is outstripping the availability of schools,” said Langille.

The BHNCDSB is considering moving Grade 7 and 8 students from Paris elementary schools in to St John’s High School in Brantford, due to overcrowding. That option is not sitting well with some parents in the area.

“As a family decision, we do not want our children going to high school and we will unfortunately end up switching schools to stay in the Paris community,” said parent Shelley Vlasic.

“We have over 200 signatures on this petition saying no to the board, we do not want our children going to high school they’re too young at that age,” added parent Celiegh Melo.

A graph provided to attendees during the boundary review meeting on October 18th shows a 180 per cent projected enrolment by 2033.

Board Chair Rick Petrella released a statement to CTV News that said:

"We understand that a boundary review is a challenging and emotional process for any school community and the public should know that the Board, as always, is committed to making a decision that is in the best interest of the students and families of the Board. We have a procedure that outlines the process and parental input, and feedback is an important part of that process. The public needs to know that we are at the very preliminary stages of the process and the committee has not even met yet to consider recommendations. There are still many steps before any decision is made. Parents had an opportunity to provide feedback and voice their concerns at a public meeting on Wednesday, October the 18th. On Friday, October 20th all parents were sent a survey to fill in to provide further feedback. Capturing parent voice in these ways will go a long way to inform the recommendation that the committee will make to the Board of Trustees.The Board of Trustees has the final decision-making authority, and the committee recommendations are presented to them for consideration. Discussions to date have been based solely on the potential options that are available. To clarify, because an option has been presented, it does not mean it will proceed to the next stage in the process. Our Board of Trustees has always taken the voice of the community very seriously.”

Although Langille is not holding much hope for the process,

“I appreciate that they are running a process that includes parent feedback. I am skeptical of how much that would be considered,” she said.

The Minister of Education also weighing in on the issue – sending a statement to CTV news.

“Our government is committed to building modern schools with a nearly $15 billion investment over 10 years to build, expand and renew schools across Ontario. Since coming into government in 2018, we continue to support growing communities like Paris, Ontario, investing over $112 million to the Brant Haldimand Norfolk CDSB and Grand Erie District School Board for 2 new elementary schools, 1 secondary school and child care additions. These schools will create 1,091 net new student spaces and 241 child care spaces. We urge school boards, who are responsible for the construction of these projects, to move quickly to get shovels in the ground to deliver for families,” said the statement.

Although the school board said it is still in the early stages of collecting data and feedback, the parents we spoke with said they were told a decision could be made as early as mid-December.