Proposed Western, Harrow high closures protested by hundreds

There was an overflow crowd at the public school board offices in Windsor Tuesday night as busloads of students, throngs of parents and several concerned community members showed up to protest the proposed closure of Harrow and Western high schools.

• Board officials recommend closing Harrow, Western high schools

Parent Mary McLaughlin told the board her son has special needs and relies on the expertise of the specially-trained teachers at Western.

"One of the first rules of business I learned in university was you don't cut front-line services to the people you serve. You cut administrative costs first," she said.

Officials with the Greater Essex County District School Board are recommending that Harrow District High School and Western Secondary School be declared surplus and closed after this school year.

An accommodation review involving five area schools was initiated to address capacity issues.

Statistics from last year showed that Harrow had a student population in October 2014 that was just 52.5 per cent of its capacity, while Western had more empty spaces than students enrolled.

The recommendations of the board's director of education, involving the Harrow and Western high schools, were released Friday. School trustees formally received the recommendations at a meeting on Tuesday night.

Mike Munger told the board closing Harrow high would devastate the local economy, discouraging development, new business and job creation.

"You do not have the right to change our town," told trustees.

One option being considered by the trustees is to move some of the Western programs to General Amherst high school in Amherstburg and two other county schools.

Amherstburg lawyer Anthony Leardi told the board it should consider a new school in that town and offer separate Western and General Amherst campuses on land at the Libro Centre.

In fact, the director's report does recommend building a new high school in Amherstburg and a larger school, offering JK through Grade 12 in Kingsville, where Jack Miner and Kingsville elementary schools would merge.

School board trustee Ron Le Clair, who represents LaSalle and Amherstburg, said the programs Western offers cannot be replicated elsewhere. He also said the attention and support the students get at Western can't be duplicated at another school.

"Beyond the programming is the support network in place amongst the teachers, staff and students. The environment there certainly provides the students to excel at the own rate," Le Clair said.

The board is expected to make its decision Oct. 13.

The trustees are not obligated to follow the recommendations of the board's director. They could act upon them, amend them or disregard them.

If Western closes, students from Western can attend the high school within their own school boundary or attend one of three high schools that will host programs similar to those at Western right now.

If Harrow closes, students will be bused to Kingsville.