Avon Maitland trustees approve Stratford boundary changes

Following a months-long review process, the Avon Maitland District school board has approved a plan to change its boundaries in Stratford.

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The board, however, will also create a legacy plan for students who will be in junior kindergarten to Grade 5 at Avon public school from areas 3, 5 and 6 during the 2024-2025 school year, meaning these students will not be required to change schools.

The motion was approved unanimously by trustees.

Cheri Carter, superintendent of corporate services and treasurer of the board, presented to trustees at their meeting on Tuesday night. The approved tweaks, which will take effect on Sept. 9 this year, will involve several changes. particularly for Avon PS

These changes will see kids at Avon PS in area 3 move to Downie public school, while those in areas 5 and 6 will move to Central Perth public school as a holding school.

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The review was launched last September after the board determined that projected growth in the city’s school-aged population meant the previous plan was not sustainable. Under the presented plan, Avon public school would peak at 113 per hundred capacity in the 2025-26 school year and then gradually level off if no current students were moved, Carter said.

Before the report was presented, parents of schoolchildren in the district expressed concerns about the potential impact on students. One parent, Rose Filipović, took issue with splitting families with siblings between schools.

“This idea of ​​splitting siblings between schools, especially between urban and rural, is kind of ridiculous,” Filipović told the board, noting finding adequate childcare would be an even bigger challenge than it is now.

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“It’s next to impossible to find daycare – imagine finding two in opposite directions. . . . It’s a little wild to think that families could take that extra burden when that is not something that we currently have,” she said.

While Filipović recognized that Avon is struggling with capacity, a family legacy plan of keeping siblings together would not have that much of an impact.

“We’re not here to say keep it going. We’re here to say let’s be part of the solution without affecting as many students as possible,” she said, adding that her proposal would have an application deadline so families that are planning to have more children would not be eligible.

While the report originally called for the legacy plan to not apply to students entering junior kindergarten in the fall at Avon PS, meaning those students would have to change schools, trustee Bruce Whitaker took exception to that part of the proposal. There are about 10 students who are currently registered for junior kindergarten at the school

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“My preference has always been no disruptions. . . . I would prefer it JK to Grade five as of 2024-25 So in other words, there’s no disruption so we don’t have JK entering into Avon next year and then having to move to Downie Central the year after.

“I just don’t think that’s fair. Especially for young kids in JK, I just can’t see that happening. So I’d much prefer to keep this very clean,” he said.

The motion also impacts border crossing-students who go to schools outside their designated home school. While the procedures for border-crossing approvals will not change, existing border crossers into Avon PS and Bedford public school will not be approved starting in 2025-26 except for those who are crossing between the two schools.

Families of kids impacted by these changes will be contacted directly by the board, and legacy plan applications will be made available in the fall. Questions about the changes should be sent to [email protected] and more information can be found at www.amdsb.ca/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=1122198&type=d&pREC_ID=1391236.

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