To start off- I won’t be at Thursdays Town Hall. Other commitments are more pressing. But if you plan to attend, here are some thoughts about the recent High School announcement.

There were two High School Proposals. Why did the Town of Wasaga Beach choose to promote and even partner with only one of the proposals. To understand the frustration this has created, one really needs to strip away the politics for a moment and just look at the education/ student aspects of these proposals.

But First,… What prompted me to write this today was someone sending me a link to the video where Minister Lecce made the recent announcement. One speaker at this event was the Catholic School Board Trustee Shawn Cooper. In expressing his gratitude for the 67.7 Million in funding, he said a couple of things;

“The dream of a Wasaga Beach High School has been realized” (That’s not true! The DREAM, was for a high school that served all. )

(This is language intentionally left out of Municipal Announcements.)

Note: I have a short communication history with Trustee Cooper. He was involved in comments on Facebook during a period when the proposals were being submitted. I had questioned the numbers for their proposal. He refused to answer publicly and said that

I needed to send an email for answers. I did so… no answers were EVER forthcoming.

A) The Catholic Board clearly needs additional capacity and they asked for 500 seats. St Noel is operating at 160% of capacity and needs relief. With this announcement, they got what they need.

The Public Board recognized the growth years ago and this September, the new Wasaga Beach Sunnidale Elementary School will open. That school will receive students from all schools and relieve stresses at Worsley, Birchview and yes… St.Noel. The public board will likely request even another elementary school in future.

Considering the above, do we think the numbers used to justify the K-12 proposal were adjusted to consider the relief expected from the new public school being opened? I personally doubt it. (More about that later) That is probably why the proposals are not public and also why Trustee Cooper never replied to me when I asked the numbers.

Still, the massive demand on our Elementary School Systems will finally be addressed. Great!!!!!!!

A) The Catholic Boards is getting 500 high school seats. The closest Catholic high school is in Collingwood. That school is presently under-enrolled and had projections of diminishing enrollment. So, what happens when those who choose Faith Based Education decide to switch to the new Wasaga Beach School? Well the 250 or so presently bussed from Wasaga Beach to Collingwood will now be bussed to a new school. Great for those young people. (I am estimating numbers as Trustee Cooper refused to respond) But why would the ministry of education provide funding to build a school for 500 Catholic high school students, when there are only 250? Did the decision take into account the “what will happen” aspect to the Collingwood Catholic High School?

The Public Board put in a proposal for a full service STEM programming high school for 1150 students. (The land for this important school has recently been approved for purchase.) Why such a large, diverse school? Because THAT is the demonstrated need. What is STEM? Think of all of the shops, etc. (Science Technology, Engineering,Mathematics) and that is STEM. In order to justify the costs of building such a high school, adequate numbers are necessary. Wasaga Beach finally had those numbers.

Elementary students (K-8)- Thanks to both boards, the stressors on the existing system will be alleviated.

Secondary students (9-12)- The students of Wasaga Beach who choose Catholic Faith Based Education will not have to get on the long ride to Collingwood, but instead will bus to Wasaga’s East end. The other 1000 or so students will STILL be bussed out of town! There will be some capacity to accept 250 or so students at the new school. I guess there will be a lottery or something? Maybe first come first served?

There are all kinds of Political and Municipal issues related to this, but let’s leave those until tomorrow.

For now, I would like everyone to consider what they would be willing to do to pressure the Ministry of Education to consider Capital funding for the first PUBLIC High Shool in Wasaga Beach? THAT is what should be our priority now!!!!