Whitbourne Elementary parents fighting school closure in court

​Parents of students at Whitbourne Elementary made their case to a Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador judge on Thursday as to why the school should not be closed.

Justice Valerie Marshall will render a decision on Friday.

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Parents have been fighting an English School District [ESDNL] decision since April when trustees voted to close Whitbourne Elementary along with five other schools in the province.

The parents' lawyer, Dan Simmons, says it's not up to the courts to decide whether the closure is justified, but if the procedures around the closure were handled properly.

Board of Trustees weren't voted in

Part of his argument is that trustees of the English School District weren't voted in.

The ESDNL board of trustees is made up of 15 people. The current members were appointed in 2013 when the amalgamation of the province's four smaller english school boards happened.  

The last school board election was held in 2009.

Simmons insisted that without being elected, the board had no jurisdiction to close the school. He said former Education Minister Clyde Jackman talked about an election in 2014 but it never happened.  

Meanwhile, the lawyer for the school district, Ian Wallace, maintains the trustees did have the authority to close the Whitbourne school, along with Holy Cross Junior High in St. John's, Sacred Heart All Grade in Conche, Long Island Academy on Long Island, and Heritage Academy in Greenspond.

Questions about enrolment

Wallace said declining enrolment at Whitbourne Elementary was one factor considered when reviewing whether the school should be closed.

However, parents and their supporters say the school's enrolment is on the rise.

"Our concern is that the numbers and the information being given to the trustees in order to make what they think is a viable decision is in fact peppered with inaccuracies," said Patti Kennedy, Chair of the Whitbourne Elementary School Council.

"We've proven time and time again that we are a viable school in a thriving community."

Condition of school

Wallace argued Whitbourne Elementary is nearing the end of its life as a facility, stating repairs and upgrades to the school would run about $1.25 million.

The roof has been outlined as an area of structural concern.

A father of two Whitbourne Elementary students, Lionel Rodrigues, doesn't think ESDNL's cost estimate is accurate.

"I don't know where these numbers are coming from," he said adding that contractors brought in by parents to evaluate the school's roof estimate repairs at $20,000.

"That doesn't even come close to the amount of extra busing fees that will come from going down the shore," said Rodrigues.

If the school does close, students will be sent to a school in Dildo, a school the parent of one disabled boy said would be less accessible.

"His day would consist of ramps and chair lifts and overcrowded hallways," said Deanne March. She said her nine-year-old son would not be able to use his walker at the school in Dildo.

I don't know where these numbers are coming from- Lionel Rodrigues, parent

"There's a level in the property. He wouldn't be able to go outside with the rest of the kids."

Wallace said the Dildo school does need repairs, and the board estimates the work would cost about $500,000.

Timeline too short

Parents argued they weren't given enough time or information throughout the process.

Their lawyer used the school's roof as an example. Simmons said parents wanted to see an engineering study on snow load impact but the board never provided the study so there was no opportunity to question it.

He said it wasn't until after the decision came down that parents got the snow load report, through filing their own Access to Information request.

Wallace said at the public meeting in April, before the board's secret ballot vote, nobody raised the issue of not having enough time.

He said parents were aware ESDNL was reviewing Whitbourne Elementary in February, two months before the meeting and vote.