A 2 year moratorium on school closures to be debated Tuesday, November 20th

http://www.livestream.com/edmontonpublicschools

Make sure to save the above link so you can watch the video webcast of the meeting.

To follow along at home on the board agenda or to read the motions and the attached information:

http://www.epsb.ca/board/november3010_agenda.shtml

RECOMMENDA TION

That the Board impose a renewable two year moratorium on school closures, and that during this time the board seek to further understand the issues and impacts surrounding school closures. During the moratorium, the board will also identify a number of ways to support schools instead of close them.

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Hot on the heels of my motion reaffirming our commitment to working with the city, province, and separate district to working together on issues related to student space, Trustee Hoffman has proposed a 2 year renewable moratorium.

I would like to hear your thoughts and feelings regarding this moratorium. I heard from many of you during the campaign that the current path of closing schools (19 in the past 10 years) is not working for our neighbourhoods. I know what I said and statements I made throughout the campaign (Yes, I did say I would look favorably upon a moratorium, but never did specify the duration. And no, I never said that I would not vote to close a school) but I urge you to still share with me your feedback.

Could a moratorium allow us time to work with the city and the province to find more creative solutions to deal with surplus space? Could a moratorium give many of our neighbourhoods clarity instead of certainty regarding the future of their school? Should the duration of the renewable moratorium be changed? If we can’t come up with ways to keep schools open in the next two years, what should we do? Under what circumstances is it okay to close a school? What about schools that are being constructed or opening on the outer ring of the city? How do these new schools affect our decision?

I have some of my own thoughts that I would like to blog about and share, but we are in the midst of trustee retreat. I hope to have a more detailed blog post up this Sunday.

As always: michael@michaeljanz.ca