Decision made: King George, J W Trusler and Dr. MacDougall schools to close

During the regular Near North District School Board meeting Tuesday Trustees reached a decision that will see King George, J W Trusler and Dr. MacDougall schools close and be amalgamated into one new school at the Pinewood School site.

Trustees including Vice Chair David Thompson all agree that closing schools is not an easy task and you can’t please everyone, but with declining enrollment and chronic underfunding they must address the issue.



One catch to the amalgamation rests on funding from the province for a new school, Board Chair Kathy Hewitt says she is confident that the province will be forthcoming with funds as they issued the mandate to the board to find efficiencies and close schools.

Hewitt says if the province gives the nod they hope to have the new build completed with students in by 2015, if the province doesn’t give the nod for a new school she says it will be business as usual for all three schools.

Hewitt also says she doesn’t expect a lot of backlash from parents because the Accommodations Review Committee process was a fair and open one.



It was clear by the response from the residents in the gallery that the decision was not what they had hoped for.

King George ARC member Jamie Murton, who does not have children at the school yet, says the board hasn’t considered the impact closing Dr. McDougal School will have on families who don’t have the time or means to travel across town to attend school events or meetings.

He says there is no question that fiscally the board must do something with regards to declining enrollment but says have the ARC members put forth a recommendation that would see J W Trusler close and keep King George and McDougal open and would have been less expensive than building a new school.