December 14th our school trustee attended a public meeting, as per Councils request, to both speak to and answer questions about the need for a High School on Bayview. His presence was very much appreciated by both Council and the residents who attended.
The Trustee provided an explanation about how the funding for new schools happens; that a business case needs to be made and put forward to the Ministry in order to be accepted for funding.
I asked the Trustee, if most applications for funding for a new school do not get accepted on the 1st attempt, then would it not be beneficial to still create that business case and put it forward anyway, so that it would be on the radar of the Ministry?
One general conclusion I drew from the discussion was that the process is flawed. There needs to be some changes to how the Ministry approves new builds.
At this point, residents have been invited by the Trustee to delegate at a YRDSB board meeting.
Council made a motion to send a letter to Minister Hunter and MPP Ballard requesting their presence at the school board meeting.
I will continue to keep everyone informed as things progress.
