SCHOOLS KEY TO HEALTHY COMMUNITIES

BY MAYOR JIM WATSON

ast year at this time, our local school boards and our communities were struggling with the closure of schools and overcrowded classrooms. Once again, a number of schools in the Public and Catholic boards are under siege as trustees deal with provincial cuts to the school system. I'm not advocating that we simply keep a school open if its capacity is extremely low, but we can't simply apply a Queen's Park solution to an Ottawa problem.

For instance, the funding formula for school closures is inherently unfair for the urban core and older neighbourhoods. As we see a rebirth of older neighbourhoods and more people moving downtown, we shouldn't be closing schools that fail to meet the objective of 90% to 100% capacity.

City Councillor Elisabeth Arnold and I recently hosted a downtown revitalization summit at City Hall to come up with a unified plan for Ottawa's central core area. About 100 participants took part in the day-long brainstorming session, including residents, members of community groups and business improvement associations, developers, real estate brokers, retailers, architects, urban planners and various government officials. All agreed the presence of quality schools was essential to the vitality of our communities.

Schools are an important part of our communities - not only for the children attending classes but for citizens of all ages who use these facilities on week nights and weekends. Closing schools affects the quality of life in our communities. When people choose a neighbourhood to live in, they look at what's available to them and their families in terms of educational, recreational and leisure facilities.

This is not just about bricks and mortar: it's a community and neighborhood issue.

As I did last year, I will continue to work with City councillors and the school boards to see what we can do to help with this stressful situation. Most trustees I speak to are equally frustrated with this annual school closure exercise. I will do my best to help in those neighbourhood battles that lie ahead.

I would like to have your feedback on this issue.

CONTACT ME:

Tel: 244-5380     Fax: 244-5379

111 Sussex Drive,

Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 5A1

E-mail: watsonj@city.ottawa.on.ca