Parents reviewing school closing options might get more time to do the job they want to do.

highschoolsBy Pepper Parr

March 22, 2017

BURLINGTON, ON

 

It was a very productive meeting and the Program Accommodation Review heard comments that several thought they would never make – the committee had found its voice – and for the first time ever there was a round of applause from the people – 30 some odd – in the gallery.

The meeting – the fifth to date, started with an overview of the data that was collected through an on-line survey that everyone agreed was not accurate and had no validity in terms of useful information. Nevertheless it did reveal something.

The members of the PARC are not at all excited about closing any of the schools – and they want to take a time out and pause to get a clearer sense of where they are going.

PARC Jan 27 - school reps

Cheryl deLugt, a nurse, told the PARC members that she felt they all needed to take a “time out” and determine just what it is they are supposed to be doing. Many other members of the PARC felt the same way.

Lester B, Pearson parent Cheryl deLugt, who works as a nurse, told her fellow PARC members that she felt the committee needed a time out and explained a procedure that operating room staff use:

1-is this the right patient, 2-the correct surgery and 3- is it the right procedure.

Many felt that the PARC had not really found its way and didn’t like how the process had gone so far. They want to review what they have done so far and determine how much flexibility they have on what they can put forward.

DeLugt wanted the board to call a time out – pause and look at what has been done and what hasn’t been done and what they might do better.  To follow the deLugt dictum they have the right patient; no one is sure they are doing the right thing and few are certain they are doing it the right way.

The Board of Education will meet Wednesday evening and the expectation is that they will revise the schedule that is supposed to have the Director of Education delivering his report to the trustees.

The sense is that more time is needed – quite a bit more, for the PARC people to offer some innovative ideas which they weren’t at all sure they could do.

1611 people responded to the survey. The details on the survey results are covered in a separate story.

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