Do you know the story of how Amherstburg got a new high school? Let me tell you how it happened, in brief.
After the 2014 election, I talked to members of the new Council. I told them that the public school board was planning on shutting down Western Secondary School and General Amherst High School. I told them they needed to put together a plan to make sure Amherstburg didn't get burned. And I told them this was the most important issue facing Amherstburg because of the social and economic issues that go along with losing a high school.
Imagine if Amherstburg lost not only Western Secondary School but also General Amherstburg High School at the same time! Harrow lost their high school. Not a good thing.
Council members told me that there was no plan in place, that administration had done nothing on this issue, and no one was giving Council advice on what to do. So I offered to do it. They agreed. (Smart decision).
After the 2014 election, I talked to members of the new Council. I told them that the public school board was planning on shutting down Western Secondary School and General Amherst High School. I told them they needed to put together a plan to make sure Amherstburg didn't get burned. And I told them this was the most important issue facing Amherstburg because of the social and economic issues that go along with losing a high school.
Imagine if Amherstburg lost not only Western Secondary School but also General Amherstburg High School at the same time! Harrow lost their high school. Not a good thing.
Council members told me that there was no plan in place, that administration had done nothing on this issue, and no one was giving Council advice on what to do. So I offered to do it. They agreed. (Smart decision).
We put together a presentation to the public school board. The presentation showed how Centennial Park and the Libro lands held lots of space for a public high school, how building a new public high school in Amherstburg was cost effective, and that shutting down Western's programs would not be cost effective.
We offered land only for the public high school. (I don't know where the idea of selling land for low-income housing came from). We offered it for sale, or for lease, or for licence, or for any other permutation that the school board would like to negotiate. And the key was to negotiate.
Amherstburg's trustee was and is Ron Leclair. Ron went to work. He convinced his fellow trustees that Amherstburg's offer was very wise. It was obvious that there should be a new high school in Amherstburg. But Ron also convinced them that Western Secondary School should stay open until a new school was built in Amherstburg.
We offered land only for the public high school. (I don't know where the idea of selling land for low-income housing came from). We offered it for sale, or for lease, or for licence, or for any other permutation that the school board would like to negotiate. And the key was to negotiate.
Amherstburg's trustee was and is Ron Leclair. Ron went to work. He convinced his fellow trustees that Amherstburg's offer was very wise. It was obvious that there should be a new high school in Amherstburg. But Ron also convinced them that Western Secondary School should stay open until a new school was built in Amherstburg.
The administration of the school board wanted to close Western, cancel Western's programming, and scatter the Western students to several different locations. The public school board administration recommended this plan to the trustees. Guess what happened?
The school board trustees turned down administration's plan. Imagine that: Publicly-elected officials who don't blindly approve everything that administration tells them to do! Amherstburg taxpayers might find that hard to believe but, I can assure you, such publicly-elected officials actually do exist. They are the trustees of the Greater Essex District Public School Board. They might also exist elsewhere.
A motion was put forward that the school board would not close either Amherst or Western. Rather, both those schools would stay open. And furthermore, when a new school was built in Amherstburg, it would house the Western programs, too. Those programs would not get cancelled.
And guess what? That motion passed. You know what else? The province endorsed it! That's right. The Ministry of Education did exactly what the trustees of the public school board asked for. And that's how Amherstburg got a new high school.
You will note that the heroes of this story are all publicly-elected officials. The ones who hired someone when Amherstburg's administration had no plan. The ones who voted to keep Western's programming and build a new high school in Amherstburg.
I submitted my bill to the Town of Amherstburg. I got paid. I did twice the work I anticipated so effectively I got paid half my usual rate, but I don't mind. I am glad I was able to help get a brand new high school for Amherstburg. I was happy to do that for my town. I didn't take part in the negotiations with the school board. And, as I said above, the key was to negotiate.
The public school board did not vote to take over all of Centennial Park. They didn't even vote on Centennial Park at all. They only voted to build a new high school somewhere in Amherstburg, and to keep Western open until Western's program could be transferred into the new Amherstburg high school. The rest was subject to negotiation.
I don't know who negotiated the land deal with the public school board. Maybe it was the same people who negotiated the Windsor-Amherstburg Police Contract?
In any event, schools grow and public needs change. The remaining 12 acres in Centennial Park should not be sold to anyone. Selling that land for housing development would be just about the dumbest thing Amherstburg could do with it.
If Council were smart, they would hold on to that land and start working on a new public-public partnership with the school board. For example, that land could be set aside for a partnership with the school board to build a performing arts centre for Amherstburg. Now wouldn't that be grand?
The school board trustees turned down administration's plan. Imagine that: Publicly-elected officials who don't blindly approve everything that administration tells them to do! Amherstburg taxpayers might find that hard to believe but, I can assure you, such publicly-elected officials actually do exist. They are the trustees of the Greater Essex District Public School Board. They might also exist elsewhere.
A motion was put forward that the school board would not close either Amherst or Western. Rather, both those schools would stay open. And furthermore, when a new school was built in Amherstburg, it would house the Western programs, too. Those programs would not get cancelled.
And guess what? That motion passed. You know what else? The province endorsed it! That's right. The Ministry of Education did exactly what the trustees of the public school board asked for. And that's how Amherstburg got a new high school.
You will note that the heroes of this story are all publicly-elected officials. The ones who hired someone when Amherstburg's administration had no plan. The ones who voted to keep Western's programming and build a new high school in Amherstburg.
I submitted my bill to the Town of Amherstburg. I got paid. I did twice the work I anticipated so effectively I got paid half my usual rate, but I don't mind. I am glad I was able to help get a brand new high school for Amherstburg. I was happy to do that for my town. I didn't take part in the negotiations with the school board. And, as I said above, the key was to negotiate.
The public school board did not vote to take over all of Centennial Park. They didn't even vote on Centennial Park at all. They only voted to build a new high school somewhere in Amherstburg, and to keep Western open until Western's program could be transferred into the new Amherstburg high school. The rest was subject to negotiation.
I don't know who negotiated the land deal with the public school board. Maybe it was the same people who negotiated the Windsor-Amherstburg Police Contract?
In any event, schools grow and public needs change. The remaining 12 acres in Centennial Park should not be sold to anyone. Selling that land for housing development would be just about the dumbest thing Amherstburg could do with it.
If Council were smart, they would hold on to that land and start working on a new public-public partnership with the school board. For example, that land could be set aside for a partnership with the school board to build a performing arts centre for Amherstburg. Now wouldn't that be grand?