Parents, students, staff and supporters of Gore Hill Public School in Leamington relax after the public school board votes to keep it open at its meeting on June 8, 2017 (Photo by Mark Brown/Blackburn News)Parents, students, staff and supporters of Gore Hill Public School in Leamington relax after the public school board votes to keep it open at its meeting on June 8, 2017 (Photo by Mark Brown/Blackburn News)
Windsor

One Leamington School Closing, Another Staying Open

A public school in Leamington is closing its doors in June, while another gets a reprieve.

The Greater Essex County District School Board voted Thursday night to close Mill Street Public School and declare the building a surplus. Also, the board voted unanimously to keep Gore Hill Public School open after an amended proposal was presented at the meeting, held at Leamington District Secondary School.

The Mill Street closing takes effect at the end of the current school year. Mill Street students who live in the catchment area north on or north of Talbot St. W will be moved to Mt. Carmel-Blytheswood School in September while the others would transfer to Queen Elizabeth School.

The vote to close Mill Street came after several speakers gave emotional testimony to the trustees, trying to persuade them to keep it open. One of them was parent Erin Visser, who broke down while calling attention to the school's sense of community.

"I witness staff and parents come in early five days a week to give our students a hot breakfast.  I would not trade that 45 minutes of my day for anything," says Visser.

The news was better for staff, students and supporters at Gore Hill. An accommodation review had recommended that Gore Hill be consolidated with M.D. Bennie Public School for the purpose of building a new 540-student school on the site of the current M.D. Bennie. After amendments were introduced, the board voted it down, bringing cheers and sighs of relief from the Gore Hill contingent.

Donna Stickles, a parent who spoke to the trustees on behalf of Gore Hill, says it was difficult to contain her excitement.

"When they started deleting the potential closure of Gore Hill, I think we were all excited," Stickles told BlackburnNews.com after the meeting. "I didn't want to burst out and scream because it wasn't right, but I think we're all excited right now."

Stickles says she's pleased the board chose to preserve their rural school community.

"We want this school, we want this environment for our kids, and we are just so proud and thankful that the trustees could see our passion for our school,"says Stickles.

Also concerning Gore Hill, the board voted to place a phased-in dual-track French immersion program for junior and senior kindergarten at the school starting this fall.  An additional grade level will be added to the French immersion program following each school year and it would welcome students from all of Leamington's schools.

In other decisions made at the meeting, the board voted to submit a business case to the Ministry of Education asking for funding to either build a new consolidated Queen Elizabeth School, or add five more classrooms to the current building.

The board also voted to adjust boundary lines effective in September.  The boundaries would involve the area north and including Mersea 3 Rd. and east including Hodgins Rd. north of the abandoned railway track becoming part of the Mt. Carmel-Blytheswood catchment area (currently M.D. Bennie).  Also, the current Queen Elizabeth school boundary west of Erie St., including the west side of the street, would become part of the M.D. Bennie catchment area.  Students already attending these schools will be allowed to stay there until grade eight as long as they stay at their same home address.  Transportation would be the parents' responsibility.

All business cases submitted by the board following Thursday night's votes are subject to approval by the Ministry of Education.

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