Hamilton public board delays possible school closure studies

Public schools in west Hamilton, east Mountain and lower Stoney Creek will get a year-long reprieve after a school board vote to put off reviewing themfor a year.

Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board trustees voted Monday to postpone accommodation reviews in those three areasfor the 2014/15 school year because of the municipal election. And while some trustees said it was political opportunism, trustee Alex Johnstone saysit's just the right thing to do.

The reviews were scheduled to start next fall, right around the time new trustees could be elected to the board, said the Ancaster trustee, who moved the motion. It's unfair to ask the newcomers to walk right into an accommodation review.

And with eight Hamilton high schools and a handful of elementary schools scheduled to close in the next year, the city needs a break, she said.

Our communities have been through a lot of change of late, and its time for a rest.

Trustees voted 9-3 in favour of Johnstones motion. It does not affect the current four accommodation reviews in central Mountain, east Hamilton, west Glanbrook and west Flamborough that impacts 22 elementary schools. It also doesn't impact last years decision to close eight high schools.

The reviews will still happen, Johnstone said. Theyll just happen after June 2015.

Trustee Laura Peddle disagreed with the move, saying the public will view it as trying to gain political advantage.

Its using our current positions to avoid making difficult decisions in an election year, she said. Its very bad optics.

But Johnstone said the communities being studied deserve a trustee who is there throughout the entire process.

The board is doing a series of accommodation reviews to try to get rid of about 5,000 extra pupil places in Hamiltons public elementary schools. The current accommodation review committees are expected to report back to the board in February.

Here are the schools impacted by the current reviews:

Central Mountain:Cardinal Heights, Eastmount Park, Franklin Road, George L. Armstrong, Linden Park, Pauline Johnson, Queensdale, Ridgemount.

East Hamilton City:Hillcrest, Parkdale, Rosedale, Roxborough Park, Viscount Montgomery, W. H. Ballard, Woodward.

West Flamborough:Beverly Central, Dr. John Seaton, Greensville, Millgrove, Spencer Valley.

West Glanbrook:Bell- Stone, Mount Hope