Parents at Ottawa schools slated for possible closure continue to oppose plan

Parents of students at a handful of western Ottawa schools slated for closure made arguments against the plan at Tuesday night's Ottawa-Carleton District School Board meeting, just days before the board announces its choices.

• Parents vowing to push back against OCDSB school closure plan

• J.H. Putman Public School students, parents plead to keep it open

OCDSB staff recommend closing seven elementary and middle schools in Ottawa's west end, and shuttering one east-end high school, in what it calls its western area accommodation review.

• D. Aubrey Moodie Intermediate School.
• ​Greenbank Middle School.
• Leslie Park Public School.
• Grant Alternative School.
• Century Public School.
• Regina Street Public School.
• J.H. Putman Public School.
• Rideau High School.

On Friday, the board will post on its website the names of the schools it wants to close.

Most of the schools on the list are under enrolment capacity, and extra money that helped keep them open by the province is drying up, according to the board.

'The board is not listening'

Board trustees gave parents an hour and a half to voice their concerns Tuesday night. While parents of students at Leslie Park Public and Century Public schools also attended, it was the families connected to J.H. Putman who made the most noise.

Gina Bies's son is a student at J.H. Putman.

"We are communicating that the board is not listening to the needs of the community," she said.

The school is named after the former city education official who, some nine decades ago, first recommended that Ottawa build schools for intermediate-aged children. Bies acknowledged that middle schools may not be the newest idea in education, but said it has worked for her son and his friends.

"We really want to keep the cohort of [Grade 6, 7 and 8 students] together at Putman because they're learning life skills to get them ready for high school. They won't have to learn it in Grade 9," she said.

Olivia Titus, 13, felt even more strongly. 

"I don't want to be in a board that puts their opinions over the concerns of the communities and the schools," the Putman student said.

I don't want to be in a board that puts their opinions over the concerns of the communities and the schools.- Olivia Titus, J.H. Putman student

If the OCDSB chooses to close her school, she said her parents will put her into a Catholic school.
 
Gemma Nicholson's son attends Century Public School in Nepean.

Nicholson expressed frustration that the board hadn't translated materials related to the accommodation review process for Century Public's many immigrant parents.  

"Some of the parents are not only illiterate in English, they're also illiterate in their own language, so they don't understand any of this. ... So they don't understand the impacts that this is going to have on their children and the board doesn't seem to be acknowledging that this is a problem," said Nicholson.

"So we feel we are being discriminated against because our parents can't stand up like all of these people in here and all join together as a group. Our parents simply won't do that."