ZURICH – An information meeting was held at Zurich Public School Jan.  28 to bring members of the community up to date on an accommodation review process that could see the closure of ZPS and other schools in the area.
The meeting also involved the endorsement of a series of recommendations that may be up for discussion at the next accommodation review committee (ARC) meeting Feb. 4 at Hensall Public School (HPS).
Doug Schade, who represents ZPS on the ARC, said feedback from the ZPS community continues to be unanimous: they want their school to stay open, and they want it to be a Kindergarten to Grade 8 school.  
“The other piece that comes loud and clear is that they’d like to see the board come up with a process that’s more open, more transparent, which allows for a better decision,” he said.
The ARC is part of a public consultation process that will culminate in recommendations to Avon Maitland School Board (AMDSB) trustees about potential school closures and reconfigurations in the Bluewater/South Huron region.
The review is prompted in part by funding issues related to declining enrolment and empty pupil places at some schools in the region.
A preferred option from the school board was presented months ago, and if followed by the trustees would see the closure of Usborne Central Public School, along with either HPS or ZPS.  
All Grade 7 and 8 students in the area would move to South Huron District High School as soon as they fit, with the 2012-13 school year expected to be the earliest possible date.
Concerns about the ARC process have been raised repeatedly, and various municipal councils have asked for a moratorium on school closures for the time being.  
The ZPS community is also asking that trustees consider a moratorium, in part to allow trustees to be aware of any alterations for the province’s funding formula for school boards, which may be reviewed this year.  
A document outlining the ZPS recommendations states a moratorium would also allow all stakeholders to be engaged in a “meaningful ARC process that is open and transparent.”  
The document calls for an independent facilitator to chair ARC meetings, a dispute resolution mechanism, and a “thorough exploration and pursuit of all possible partnerships between municipalities, the county and the Huron Perth Catholic District School Board.”
The ZPS contingent also recommends that ZPS remain open as a Kindergarten to Grade 8 school.  
The document notes that at the outset of the review ZPS was operating above its capacity for students, and from the beginning the ZPS community “has maintained we did not fit the criteria for inclusion in this accommodation review.”  
Reiterated in the document are the ZPS contingent’s “top three characteristics of (an) ideal school,” which were presented at an ARC meeting in early January.
The three characteristics are:
• A small school that allows a child to become well known and significant;
•”Continuity of dedicated and compassionate staff;” and
• Easy accessibility for parent and community involvement to participate in the education of students. A school in the child’s own community.”  
The document claims these characteristics “exemplify the education a child receives at Zurich Public School.”
A third recommendation endorsed at the Jan. 28 ZPS meeting was that Grade 7 and 8 students are best-served in the current K-Grade 8 configuration in their “local community schools.”  
Opportunities for leadership, development and extra-curricular activities are among the benefits cited, and concerns about potential exposure to “drugs, bullying, smoking, alcohol and sexual activity” in a high school setting.  
“Our 11 and 12-year-olds should be protected from these difficult choices by remaining in a viable school in their own community,” the recommendation states.  
A fourth recommendation endorsed at the ZPS meeting is that the ARC not include ZPS in any of the potential solutions to accommodation issues involving the other four schools under review.  
“It is unacceptable to move our students out of Zurich Public School to solve the enrolment issues at the other schools,” the recommendation states.  
“Any potential consolidations and closures should only involve the other four schools and not Zurich Public School.”  
The recommendation suggests that if other schools’ Grade 7 and 8 students are moved to SHDHS, ZPS should remain a Kindergarten to Grade 8 school.
A fifth recommendation from ZPS is that the ARC, board staff and trustees recognize that many ZPS parents will consider moving their children to the Huron-Perth Catholic District School Board, “which offers an in-community alternative.”
Zurich is also home to St. Boniface, a Catholic elementary school.  
“This will further reduce the student population of the AMDSB and create more funding issues,” the recommendation states.
The document goes on to suggest that closing ZPS may breach Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms because, according to the document, it would “substantially reduce or even … eliminate the freedom of choice to educate their children in a non-Christian school/non-denomination school.”  
“The community does not profess to be an expert in the area of constitutional law,” the document states. “However, at the very least this action would appear to be unfair and not in keeping with Canadian principles of religious choice.”  
The document suggests that an independent review of such implications be conducted.
Schade said a motion was unanimously passed at the Jan. 28 ZPS meeting to bring these recommendations forward for the ARC’s consideration.
 He said last week they had been sent to the school board and other members of the ARC, and should be up for discussion at the next ARC meeting.
 The meeting is set for Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. at HPS.