By Bruce Downey, North Bay
As a current parent of two children in the NNDSB I continue to have some serious concerns regarding the transparency issues facing the NNDSB. I began a letter writing campaign early in the year as it was apparent to me from the many discussions that I have had with former NNDSB staff including previous Directors, Superintendents, Principals and frontline staff that all believe there are serious transparency issues within the school board but for obvious reasons they are not permitted to discuss publicly.
To begin, the issue of the new Almaguin Highlands Secondary School is substantially over budget (in the millions of dollars) and growing but there appears to be no financial accounting for the overspending. Another newly approved school has yet to be built in the Parry Sound area where the school board has had funds approved by the province for well over four years ago and there seems to be no end in sight over the delays.
There is also continued issues facing the board regarding its enrolment projections as was evident with the overcrowding issues facing the new Woodland Public school built in North Bay. It is obvious that through the public ARC process for Woodlands, the parent groups were ignored as they raised concerns regarding enrolment numbers and especially the limited play space for children. The new school is bursting at the seams, children have a limited area to play and they are building an addition onto a brand new school. Imagine that!
The public has expressed many concerns regarding the recent North Bay High School Accommodation Process. It finally became such as an issue that the Provincial Ombudsman's Office believes there are sufficient grounds to launch a formal investigation of the process. This investigation has permitted some parents to finally receive some much-needed recognition for their efforts in discovering the true facts surrounding this ARC process.
During this election season, a number of potential trustee candidates have questioned the legitimacy of the NNDSB surrounding the abnormally high number of senior staff at the board office. Along with the not so clear intentions of the current Director who was prepared to leave for a new position in her 'home' community of southern Ontario while the North Bay community was dealing with the high school consolidation process. These issues and more have eroded the relationships with a number of community partners including the City of North Bay, local businesses and local post-educational institutions.
One does need to question who is ultimately responsible for many of these issues. The majority of trustees backed these initiatives.
They have contributed to creating an environment that has had a major negative impact on the confidence of public education in our region.
Sometimes if you want change, you need new leaders. The electorate need to make informed decisions on October 22 , otherwise, you likely will get more of the same,
Bruce Downey
