Burlington's MPP getting hammered by people who don't think she is stepping up and helping them on the matter of school closings.

highschoolsBy Staff

March 27, 2017

BURLINGTON, ON

 

People write the member of city council, or their Member of the provincial legislature (MPP) or the member of Parliament (MP) when they have a beef.

Sometimes they write a “thank you very much” letter.

Burlington’s MPP Eleanor McMahon hasn’t seen too many of the thank you notes recently.

If it isn’t hydro rates they are complaining about then it is the mess at the school board where they are trying to determine which schools to close while parents are asking that none of the schools close.

The following is the correspondence between Cheryl De Lugt, a member of the PAR Committee representing Lester B. Pearson high school.

From: cheryl [mailto:cbtalus@hotmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, March 04, 2017 8:15 PM
To: Eleanor.McMahon@ontario.ca; McMahon, Eleanor MPP CO
Subject: URGENT REQUEST for Eleanor to vote on Tuesday March 7 to stop the PARC process across this province it is not right to be closing schools which are the heart of the communties

Good Day Eleanor McMahon:

My name is Cheryl De Lugt a very concerned parent in Burlington. As you are well aware the Halton District School Board is under a PARC process of all secondary high schools in Burlington triggered by the Liberal Government that you belong to.

Girl with T-shirt LBPH

Pearson student let people know where she stands.

This process has become incredibly stressful to the citizens of Burlington, parents but more importantly the students that will ultimately affected by any decisions.

I am very concerned about this whole process with a child who has a learning disability and who would be affected the most if her school closes which is Pearson High School as she is in grade 10 and would have to move to a new school in her last year most important year of high school grade 12. As a parent with a child with a disability I fear her transition to high school from the elementary school system fearing she would be lost in the crack, but it was far from that at Pearson. In a smaller school environment she has flourished because every teacher knows every student and they took her under their wings. Wow she would not have had that in a larger mega school environment that this Liberal government is in favour of.

I understand that there is an urgent debate and vote that will be occurring this Tuesday March 7 asking for a moratorium to this flawed process called the PARC. I know first hand being a parent selected to represent Lester B Pearson High School on the PARC Committee, this has been a true eye opening of the recking spending and the lack of accountability and transparency of our school board that we as parent entrust with our children.

I am hoping that you will listen to your Burlington constituents and vote to stop this process and stop closing schools across this Province as they are the heart of the community. I know that the voting rating for the Liberal Party is at it’s all time low and this is time to listen to the people who can or will vote for you.

I appreciate your time but more importantly hope you will vote to stop this PARC process in the legislation on Tuesday March 7, 2017. I do appreciate a response back to this urgent message

Sincerely

 

From: Eleanor McMahon, MPP (Constituency Office) <emcmahon.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org>
Sent: March 23, 2017 11:56 AM
To: ‘cheryl’
Subject: RE: URGENT REQUEST for Eleanor to vote on Tuesday March 7 to stop the PARC process across this province it is not right to be closing schools which are the heart of the communties

Dear Cheryl:

Thank you for taking the time to contact my office regarding your concerns related to the pupil accommodation review underway in Burlington. It is important for me to hear from constituents about issues that are important to them. You have clearly outlined your concerns regarding the process and also about Pearson. I was also copied on an email from Jillian to the Trustees and Director – I am assuming she is your daughter – and I very much appreciated hearing from her with the student perspective.

McMahon office - worker facing

The only thing that hasn’t happened is picket lines outside the MPP’s office.

In my role as MPP for Burlington, I have spoken with other parents, students, teachers and residents concerned about the impact of the PAR process. School closures and consolidations are some of the hardest decisions faced by our school boards given the critical role that schools play in the lives of Burlington families and our community more broadly.

Our schools have an impact that extends far beyond the classroom, which is why all residents deserve the chance to provide feedback so their input is reflected in the decision-making process. In my discussions, I have heard from constituents who feel that they have not had adequate time or opportunities to provide meaningful input. I have listened to these concerns and shared it in discussions with constituents, community leaders, trustees and the school board, outlining my expectation that Burlington residents have the chance to participate in consultations.

Decisions with respect to schools and school closures are made at the local level by local decision-makers: school boards (staff) and trustees (elected officials). There was a time, not that long ago, when schools were closed without due consultation. Our government changed this and has empowered local decision-makers to review school accommodation needs, entrusting our school board staff and trustees to ensure that student well-being is the number one priority.

School boards are now asked to ensure these decisions reflect consultations and input from impacted members of the community. The Ministry of Education’s pupil accommodation review guideline provides a framework for this, mandating that meaningful consultation take place.

Local input is essential for local decision-makers as they act on behalf of their community. I expect the Halton District School Board to listen and respond to requests from Burlington residents for more extensive consultation and ensure that their concerns are understood and dutifully addressed. This will ensure that Burlington residents have confidence in the process and therefore, the outcomes.

Encouraging community input is a fundamental principle in important decision-making processes like this and as the MPP for Burlington, I will continue to advocate on behalf of my constituents to participate and have their voices heard in these important discussions. Providing our students with the best educational opportunities remains a priority for me, and I expect that a meaningful consultation process will support a robust, high quality education system in Burlington and across the province.

Thanks again for reaching out to me.

Eleanor McMahon – MPP, Burlington

De Lugt wasn’t buying the response she got and shot back at McMahon:
Thank you for your email response but as a concerned parent in Burlington I am not naive in this flawed process that the Liberal Government has created for Local School Boards across this Province to follow. I am not satisfied with your “its not my issue” answer and that this is a decision of the School Board and local elected officials.

Protest outside board office

Central and Pearson high school parents were outside in the cold weather demonstrating consistently.

As a concerned parent that has witnessed first hand this flawed PARC process in Burlington watching communities pitting against communities to save their own school has been a true eye opener to the irresponsible reckless spending and the lack of accountability and transparency of our School Board and Provincial Government that we as parent entrust with our children with.

I work as a nurse in a hospital. We have adopted “A TIME OUT or Patient Briefing” prior to any major procedure such as an operation. The whole team from the surgeon, anesthesia and nurses in the operating room take a momentary pause prior to any operation making sure they ask these questions ( is this the right person, the right surgery, is it the right procedure) this allows the whole team to be on the same page making sure they are delivering the best care to the patient and to carry out the right procedure.

I encourage the Halton District School and the Provincial Government who’s popularity rating is at an all time low at 12% to take “A TIME OUT” which is a momentary pause in closing any schools in Burlington and across this Province. Please be patient and take a time out for approximately 3-5 years wait and watch approach and you will see your student numbers go up. With seniors downsizing and moving out of their homes young families are moving in the students will come.
Burlington is growing and there is projected growth north of the QEW that will be taking place in the next 5-10 years so we will need our schools

Closing schools are not the right thing to do. Schools are the centre of our communities and if the School Board closes one or two schools in Burlington it will severely impact the way this city looks and operates for many many years to come.

Each school has its own stories and its own unique programs and clubs that are important to their communities

I encourage the Provincial  Government, Halton District School Board and the elected School Trustees to think very hard about any decision to close any schools in Burlington with the growth that will occur in Burlington and the lack of green space left to develop there will be a new look to this city with high density development which in turn will yield great number of students.

Sincerely, Cheryl De Lugt

Expect to see a lot more mail like this.  The parents in Burlington have been putting up some very stiff resistance to the closing of high schools.

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8 comments to Burlington’s MPP getting hammered by people who don’t think she is stepping up and helping them on the matter of school closings.

  • Susan

    FINALLY A SCHOOL BOARD CHAIR CALLS IT LIKE IT IS – “Bluewater District School Board chair Ron Motz called on Ontario’s education minister Wednesday to “come clean” on who’s really to blame for school closures” https://www.owensoundsuntimes.com/2017/03/30/motz-calls-out-minister-on-cuts

    The Ministry’s weak Pupil Accommodation Review Guideline is simply that – a guideline. School boards are not “mandated” to follow it, they are encouraged. This government wants schools closed (some at 90% capacity) so they can balance the budget on the backs of our students and communities before the next election. “the education minister is telling the public she’s not really in favour of it but it’s the boards’ that are deciding to close schools, which Motz said is not being forthright.”

  • I'm alright now

    Having worked as a contractor in both the city and province I am shocked and dismayed that the contractor could get away with what is blatantly obvious. No Hard hat $350.00, gloves, Fall arrest, improper use of a ladder, does this clown know someone people in the biz need to know to keep the MOL dogs at bay?, Oh yeah he’s doing work for a Liberal MPP who just so happens to be a cabinet minister.
    Perhaps Dear Leader Wynne should go and exact a pound of flesh from this contractor probably a cool g-note in fines and another g in required training, certification.
    I guess it is just the little peons that have to suffer the MOL. Too bad I never had friends like this.

  • Lynn

    This reply by our MPP is a cut and paste from a blog she put on her website, and has been sent verbatim to numerous people who wrote to her, some of those people having written to her months ago and multiple times, but she has replied with this cut/paste only recently, as she has been inundated with calls and letters asking for help and likely realizes this will be an election issue. One would think that a government with a 12% approval rating would have realized this earlier – especially considering how this is widespread in Ontario and the voices shouting for something to be done are getting louder and louder. Some of us were in Queen’s Park a few weeks ago when Conservative leader Patrick Brown tabled a motion to stop school closures. Every Liberal MPP, including McMahon, voted against it.

    “Decisions with respect to schools and school closures are made at the local level by local decision-makers: school boards (staff) and trustees (elected officials). There was a time, not that long ago, when schools were closed without due consultation. Our government changed this and has empowered local decision-makers to review school accommodation needs, entrusting our school board staff and trustees to ensure that student well-being is the number one priority.

    School boards are now asked to ensure these decisions reflect consultations and input from impacted members of the community. The Ministry of Education’s pupil accommodation review guideline provides a framework for this, mandating that meaningful consultation take place.”

    Actually, the Ministry’s Guidelines do no such thing. “Meaningful consultation” most certainly is not mandated in them, nor is it taking place. This isn’t a Halton issue I speak of: look at the Ontario Alliance Against School Closures website. Google “school closures, Ontario” and see how all across the province people who have been involved in this are saying the same thing. This government has failed Ontario students and continues to fail them. The massive amounts of money wasted in all areas by the Liberals for the past 14 years, and scandal after scandal, have also contributed hugely to this problem. And our MPP just passes it off to the school board and the trustees – then she can blame them instead.

  • James Smith

    Sorry to see this going on in my former home town. Folks know they elect a school board to manage this stuff not MPP’s right?

    For what it’s worth, over the almost 3 decades I lived in Burlie, I didn’t really hear this kind of nonsense when Breckon, Elizabeth Gardens and other Schools were closed. Most of Burlie’s schools were built when family sizes were much larger than they are today. Intensification notwithstanding many schools across the province are not sustainable. & this is an issue in the Western world in general.

    Why would one support keeping a school open that is far under capacity, & due to it’s age, the building systems & building envelope are in need of major capital investments? In my professional life I work to repurpose a number of buildings – because times change. Some elements of a structure – that are significant can & should be saved; but some buildings are not able to be repurposed and should be torn down.

    The advice I might add is that in the case of many schools buildings of older vintage, the town at the time of construction assisted in the cost of construction or land assembly, so this investment should be at least acknowledged by the school board. Too often the land that former schools sit on are simply sold to the highest bidder and dreary McMansions take the place of a community asset. Any town looking to close Schools should be creative in developing a replacement. Look not just the money of the land sale, but also look to how the land, and any useable building components can add to the social capital of a community.

    But hey, it’s Burlie. When did Ol’ Burlie ever do anything to improve social capital on purpose?

  • Well Craig – it is unfortunate that you are tired of this issue. Should Central be closed it will be interesting to read what you have to say then – the downtown core as you know it will consist of 26 storey towers and not a young person in sight – they will all be on school buses that you will be paying for. The role of the citizen is to be vigilant and no the let the bureaucrats steal your city from you

  • Hans

    I agree with Andrew.
    In addition to our MPP, I expect the trustees to be front and center in this ridiculous and sad farce. Ultimately – unless the Province decides to take over and send in a supervisor to clean up this mess – our elected trustees are responsible for it. It’s way past the time for them to speak up, before irreparable harm is done.

  • Andrew

    Great note Cheryl. I am very impressed with your follow up email. Clearly our MPP has chosen to do nothing. That will be increasingly difficult with these kind responses.
    She might not like it, but it is time (for a couple months now) to actually do her job, roll up her sleeves and get to an acceptable resolution. Which is NO schools to be closed. The board population numbers are wrong. Over population is just as bad as under population. The intensification in our city is abundant. From Aldershot to the core to the north.

  • Dan Lyons

    In all this, it’s important to note that the school board and it’s process only addresses education and students as if that were the only issue of importance in this discussion. The MPP’s role is to represent the community in the broader context. She must represent and speak to the broader economic and social impact of school closures on the whole of the community and specific neighborhoods. We hear a lot about the students and of course that is what the school board focusses on, but the issue of closing a school or multiple schools affects several aspects of a community. This is the voice that an MP and MPP needs to provide and so far, as far as I can see, this issue is being largely ignored.