RUMORS AND THOSE WHO PERPETUATE THE FALSEHOODS…..OR NOT
HOW WILL WE FIND OUT OUR SCHOOLS ARE IN DANGER OF BEING CLOSED? THE GRAPEVINE? IT WOULDN'T BE THE FIRST TIME
OF COURSE I LISTEN TO RUMORS. FROM MY FIRST DAY AS A CUB REPORTER FOR THE FORMER GEORGIAN BAY-MUSKOKA LAKES BEACON, I HAD MY EAR FIRMLY ATTACHED TO THE LEAVES OF THE OLD NEIGHBORHOOD GRAPEVINE. I GOT SOME CRAPPY TIPS, AND WASTED TIME CHASING DOWN STORIES THAT FELL FLAT. BUT EVERY NOW AND AGAIN, I'D GET A TIP THAT SOMETHING WAS COMING DOWN THE PIKE, AT TOWN COUNCIL, OR FROM A DEVELOPER, THAT WAS VERIFIED BY A FEW PHONE CALLS. THERE ARE ALWAYS PREAMBLE TREMORS TO REALLY BIG STORIES, AND IF IT'S YOUR JOB TO GET FRONT PAGE SCOOPS, FOR THE LOCAL PRESS, YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO TAKE A CHANCE A SOURCE IS TELLING A PORKY. YOU JUST MUSTER THE GUMPTION TO PROVE OR DISPROVE THE TIP. I WAS FASTIDIOUS RESEARCHING MY STORIES, AND THERE WAS NOTHING I ENJOYED MORE, THAN PLAYING A HUNCH, AND WINNING WITH AN ABOVE-THE-FOLD BREAKING NEWS STORY……ONE THAT THE COMPETITION DIDN'T GET. THEY WEREN'T LISTENING TO THE RIGHT GRAPEVINE.
WHETHER IT IS TRUE OR A MANIFESTATION OF AN OVER-ACTIVE IMAGINATION, A NEW RUMOR ON THE STREETS OF SOUTH MUSKOKA, WHICH HAS AN IDENTIFIABLE SKELETON CONNECTED, SUGGESTS THAT THE TRILLIUM LAKELANDS BOARD OF EDUCATION IS MULLING OVER SOME BOUNDARY CHANGES IN THEIR AREA OF JURISDICTION. THE CHANGES COULD, ACCORDING TO HEARSAY, CAUSE THE MOTH-BALLING OF SEVERAL SCHOOLS IN THE BRACEBRIDGE AREA. I HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT GRAVENHURST YET, BUT YOU HAVE TO KNOW IT'S ALWAYS A POSSIBILITY, ESPECIALLY WITH DECLINING ENROLLMENT AFFECTING MANY AREAS OF THE PROVINCE.
WITH THE CURRENT BUDGET STRESSES, AND IMPOSED CUT-BACKS, INCLUDING THE PRESENT DEADLOCK BETWEEN THE TEACHERS AND THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, RUMORS LIKE THIS HAVE A PRETTY FAIR SHELF LIFE, AND THEY'RE INCLINED TO GROW WHEN THE RIGHT CONDITIONS PREVAIL. THIS WOULD BE NOW. I DIDN'T GO TO THE RUMOR MILL TO FIND THIS TIP. IT CAME TO ME. BUT IT WAS TOLD TO ME, NOT AS AN INSIDE SCOOP, BUT AS "DID YOU HEAR THEY'RE GOING TO CLOSE SCHOOLS IN MUSKOKA?" I HEAR STORIES ABOUT CLOSING SCHOOLS ALL THE TIME. THE SCHOOLS APPARENTLY BEING CLOSED CHANGE FROM MONTH TO MONTH. THE ONLY REASON I'M PAYING ATTENTION TO THIS LATEST RUMOR IS THAT IT FITS WITH A LOT OF OTHER THINGS GOING ON, AT PRESENT, AND MESHES WITH THE WHOLE ISSUE OF DECLINING ENROLLMENT. IT'S NOT FICTION. SOME AREAS ARE SEEING INCREASES, BUT OTHERS ARE DROPPING EACH YEAR, WITHOUT EVEN A PROMISE OF IMPROVING. SOME SCHOOLS MAY HAVE A SPIKE IN TWO OR THREE YEARS, WHEN LARGER PUBLIC SCHOOL CLASSES EMPTY INTO HIGH SCHOOL. BUT THEN IN MUSKOKA, THERE'S A PRETTY FAIR COMPETITION FOR HIGH SCHOOLERS. IN SOUTH MUSKOKA, THERE ARE THREE HIGH SCHOOL LOOKING FOR STRONGER ATTENDANCE. AND THEN THERE ARE PRIVATE SCHOOLS LOOKING TO SIGN UP CANDIDATES LOOKING FOR A LITTLE MORE. THERE AREN'T ENOUGH STUDENTS TO GO AROUND, TO KEEP SOLID NUMBERS, AND STAVE OFF THE BEAN COUNTERS, LOOKING TO TRIM THE BUDGET.
I'VE HEARD THIS RUMOR OF POTENTIAL CLOSURES THREE TIMES IN TWO WEEKS. THIS TIME HOWEVER, THE CLAIMS AREN'T OUTRAGEOUS OR UNBELIEVABLE. IN FACT, IF IT'S TRUE, NO ONE SHOULD BE STARTLED BY THE NEWS. I'M NOT SURE WHAT COLLATERAL DAMAGE THESE CLOSURES MIGHT CAUSE, IF BOUNDARY CHANGES ARE POTENTIAL, BUT AS IS BOARD AND PROVINCIAL POLICY, I BELIEVE, THERE WILL BE LOTS OF TIME TO INTERVENE, AT PUBLIC CONSULTATIONS.
TALK OF CLOSURES FOR YEARS
For some time now, and again with no surprise, Gravenhurst High School has had, as they say, "one foot on a banana peel," as far as sustainability goes……meaning being able to survive the enrollment decline, and dealing with the hills and valleys of moving-on-up students from area public schools. It has been close for years, and has suffered from the pressure of two other regional high schools, taking their eligible students away. In many cases of this "jumping schools" it is based on course options and availability. When I was a student at Bracebridge and Muskoka Lakes Secondary School, from the late 1960's to the mid 1970's, we had lots of Gravenhurst students enrolled, in part, I believe, because a new gymnasium was being constructed, and physical education classes may have been affected. I'm not sure of this however, so I will need to correct this if need be!
I have felt bad for Gravenhurst High School for years now, because they have to compete with a Catholic High School and a newly built, well equipped high school in Bracebridge. It's like asking our school to compete in a running race, but insisting that it run down the track pulling a cement block…..while the others run without encumbrances. How is it possible, that Gravenhurst can compete on a level playing field, when they don't have the same advantages as the schools a few miles north? Our old school doesn't have a pool and theatre complex attached. They don't have access to a climbing wall, and a large scale physical fitness centre, and a coffee shop to visit in the same complex without having to go out in the prevailing weather. The smaller the enrollment the fewer options that can be offered. Yet the Board allows students from our town, to go to BMLSS, and to the Catholic High School. I don't know what else to call it than "robbing Peter to pay Paul." But something has to give, and it seems that Gravenhurst High School has been doing most of the giving.
In several blogs over this past year, I have, like I'm famous for, tried to awaken our municipal council, to the imminent issue of declining enrollment, especially at the High School; asking them if they had a contingency plan, to handle such news if and when it becomes an unfortunate reality. I'm sure councillors are aware of this issue of lesser enrollment, so my only pressing issue, is whether or not they have decided to intervene, and check out some of these details with the Board of Education. There is an enrollment "low" you see, that puts our High School into a category of "under-enrolled schools." Nothing special about that! The key question however, is that……. I'm reasonably sure Town Council isn't aware how close the school may be, to falling into this zone, and may already be there. My suggestion a year ago, was to form a small council committee, to research just what's going on with enrollment locally, and if we might be at risk of having the school closed any time in the near future. Council needs to know the five year projection of enrollment, and if we are going to get a leap in student numbers down the road….or whether we are looking to decline even further. Bussing several hundred kids, my friends, is cheaper than keeping an under-enrolled school open.
As I like to remind those who are complacent on the issue, of potential school closure, we almost lost our High School a few years ago, when plans first surfaced, about building a mega-school in Bracebridge, on the former Magna property on District Road 4. I feel it is incumbent, to keep reminding those who either don't remember the issue, or who stood on the sidelines back then, but the vote to keep our school open was pretty thin in our favor. It took a huge effort to prove to the elected Board of Education, and then administration, at least partially sold on the idea of a mega school, that we weren't going to allow our school to be closed without one hell of a fight. Period. End of story. It worked then, because we had powerful news and public relations folks working on our behalf, and yes, that did make all the difference. The publication, "Muskoka Today," under the direction of publisher Mark Clairmont, was like a battering ram, and without this juggernaut of editorial pride, for our town, we might have had an empty building on that school property today. We must not forget this, because some of the oomph is gone now. We don't have the same resources to fight back. This should be worrisome, and the reason we need to light a fire, so to speak, under Town Council.
The Board then, abandoned the idea of one super school, on the District 4 property, but went on regardless, and built a huge school, connected to a Town of Bracebridge recreation centre, north of town, which if I'm listening to a really good source, is now also under-enrolled, for what it could hold in student numbers. I also understood, that the school was built such that it could be expanded easily in the future, if the numbers were to change. Let's just say adding another three hundred students from South Muskoka?
Gravenhurst Town Council shouldn't wait until they get a memo from the Board, suggesting they've got a surprise for us! We should be ahead of the curve on this one, because similar situations are occurring with schools in other parts of the province. Pro-active is the operative word here. As the province cuts back, so will the respective Boards, and some schools simply, and unavoidably, have too few students. So it's not a case that I'm blaming the Board for being ruthless, budget-wise, because that's the way we want them to operate. In this case however, it is of vital importance to this town, to have its High School. If it is in peril, and the numbers are going to be weak for some time to come, the town does need to address what comes next. How do we change from being under-enrolled? What arguments do we have for keeping it open? Secondary uses? Adult Education? How do we refute the waste of taxpayers' money, running a school with a diminished student body? What will happen to Gravenhurst if the school was presented as a candidate for closure? And should we be ready, just in case this becomes the latest trauma for a town trying to rebound economically? Losing the High School would certainly be perceived as a damning blow, wouldn't you agree?
The bottom line is this. With declining enrollment at Gravenhurst High School, it smacks down on the courses of study it can offer students. This is a death knell, whether we want to admit it or not. Parents are eventually going to judge that ten miles north isn't such an inconvenience, especially if their offspring are getting more bang for the buck. It's pretty basic. So while there isn't news yet of an imminent closure, the reality the competition is aggressive these days, means Gravenhurst isn't going to catch much of a break in the future, short term or long. So it just starts looking a little bit more inevitable each semester, that our school won't be the first pick of public school graduates in our town. It has already happened. It has been happening for years. But now the numbers are starting to put us in a precarious area of irrelevance…….not because our teachers aren't the best of the best, but because the allure of a better, new school facility, is becoming a huge temptation…..to Bracebridge's advantage. Gravenhurst can't afford to lose students. Bracebridge can't either. So, if I didn't know better, I'd say there was a tug-of-war going on here, just out of sight, that could hurt the loser big-time. Whether it is this year or five years down the road, if the numbers don't change, we will need to deal with this issue before long.
As council doesn't like taking advice from former news reporters, I don't expect to read about a new education liaison committee being formed. It is what they should do, but I've learned to be patient with these kind of things. I do want to bestow one last bit of advice. During the Save Our School protest the last time, Town Council wasn't much use in the critical early going, and had to be heavily coerced to get involved. Council should have been carrying the ball, but we found it laying there…..unattended, and had no choice but to pick up the fumble and run like the wind. So this time, when there is an opportunity to jump on this, and get some clarification from the Board, and an understanding about future projections for enrollment, then wisdom should prevail……because this would be a very troubling fumble to make at this stage of the game…..when in reality, we may not be able to muster the same defense as previous. This time, as taxpayers, we may be confronted by conscience at the same time as home town loyalties, because it is getting expensive to operate under-enrolled schools in this province. You can't blame the Board for following policy.
Thanks so much for joining today's blog. Please drop in for a visit some time soon. I appreciate your readership support.
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