Some parents were relieved when Ottawa’s largest school board backtracked on changes. Others say the the new plan is just as confusing.
Revisions of school boundary changes at Ottawa’s largest school board released last week have had some parents sighing with relief.
Others say it has merely plunged them into a new kind of turmoil.
In a regular year, between 6,000 and 8,000 students change schools. But in the original plan boundary plan released on Feb. 28 by the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, an additional 3,000 students would change schools in September 2026.
Now a new plan, which involves more than 40 schools, whittles down that number to about 1,500 more students than in a regular year.
“Grandparenting opportunities will likely exist for some of these students, lowering the number further for those who have to transition to new schools,” said the board last week.
But some parents say the new boundary shifts have created new uncertainty.
Take the dilemma faced by David Krochmalnek, a parent at Severn Avenue Public School. Under the Feb. 28 plan, Severn Avenue would be turned into a kindergarten to Grade 3 school, with older students travelling across Highway 401 to attend Pinecrest Public School, a plan that had parents perplexed and angered.
“I can’t think of a reason why crossing a 400-series highway makes sense for a community,” said Krochmalnek.
The kindergarten to Grade 3 plan was rescinded last week, meaning students could stay at Severn Avenue until Grade 6. “We think that’s a win,” he said.
But the changes don’t solve everything for his family. Severn Avenue will also be one of only six at the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board to be French-immersion only. Students in the English stream will still have to go to Pinecrest.
The Evening Citizen
Krochmalnek has a daughter in the French immersion stream and a son in the English stream.
“We were hoping for neighbourhoods to be upheld,” he said.
Jane Harley, a parent at Devonshire Community Public School, said the initial plan called for 42 per cent of the school’s population to be transferred to three different schools — Centennial, Cambridge Street and Mutchmor. Under the newly revised plan, those students will all be moving to Cambridge Street.
On the plus side, no students will have to cross Bronson Avenue or Carling Avenue, said Harley.
But she sees the new plan, which was proposed by parents, as a “glimmer of logic.” The other part of the parent proposal was to “grandparent” current Devonshire students — exempt them from the move — until they age out of the school, said Harley.
She argues that the default should be grandparenting students instead of requiring parents to apply for an exemption after a transfer. That’s unfair to parents who aren’t plugged into the system or who don’t speak English, she said.
“Such a process would disadvantage some kids,” said Harley. “There are so many pieces of the puzzle that have not been put into place.”
Before the OCDSB started playing with boundaries earlier this year, Kate Purchase believed both her son, 7, and her daughter, 3, would attend Broadview Public School. But the Feb. 28 proposal put her son at Broadview while her daughter would go to Churchill Public School from kindergarten until grade 6, before she’d move to Fisher Park Middle School for Grades 7 and 8.
The latest plan doesn’t change much, except her daughter returns to Broadview for grades 7 and 8, said Purchase.
Meanwhile, only half of her block had been zoned for Broadview, she said.
“We’re still in a unique situation where half of our block is over the boundary,” said Purchase, who contends that Churchill Avenue is a more of a natural boundary and that residential streets should not be split.
“We happen to live on the unlucky side of the street. Parents expected to see that the street wasn’t split down the middle.”
Purchase’s home is equidistant from both Churchill and Broadview. The distance isn’t the challenge, it’s that her children will be separated. Parent involvement and time is split between two school communities, she said.
Laura D’Angelo, a parent with a son in junior kindergarten at Broadview Public School and a one-year-old daughter, has similar concerns about splitting up siblings.
When her daughter starts school, D’Angelo said she will have only four and a half hours between her son’s drop-off and her daughter’s pick-up times.
“The plan is about community-based education. I’m 100 per cent in favour. But in this scenario, we have to build two separate communities. The only way my partner and I can make it work is if we each take a child.”
The OCDSB has extended the time for public feedback in an online survey, which will be open until April 24, plus a meeting for public delegations on April 22. Final recommendations are scheduled for release on May 6, with a decision to be made by trustees on May 13.
Parents will keep pushing, said Purchase. She wants to board to go back to the drawing board.
“We have seen an incredible unity from parents. We have to fight for each other’s kids. Because clearly the board isn’t,” she said.
“This is an opportunity to put all of the facts on the table for trustees to decide and parents to see what they’re dealing with.”
Our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark our homepage and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed.
