Over 50 people attended the meeting as frustrations mount over the silencing of the Rural Education Task Force.
Over 50 people attended a rural education meeting last night hosted by Zorra Mayor Marcus Ryan and Thames Centre Deputy Mayor Kelly Elliott.
Ryan is also the Vice Chair of the Thames Valley District School Board Rural Education Task Force. Ryan and Elliott feel the TVDSB is trying to silence rural voices. The complaints about a lack of rural representation at the school board have been ongoing for years. The recent cause of concerns stemmed from the Rural Education Task Force releasing a draft document on their report.
Ryan explains why the task force was created in the first place.
"The School Board set up the rural education to talk to residents in the rural areas of the school board and understand what the unique opportunities and challenges were for schools in those communities and this draft report is the result of the two years of that work of listening to residents, turning them into recommendations for the school board to consider."
The school board took issue with the draft report being sent to councils in Oxford, Elgin and Middlesex. This made the report public and you can read the report online here. Board Chair, Lori-Ann Pizzalato and Mark Fisher, the Director of Education sent a letter to Middlesex County, Oxford County and Elgin County CAO's demanding that letter be removed. Elliott states that they used really serious terminology to try and intimidate staff to remove it, that didn't work, it is still on all of our agendas.
Another big issue coming up on the March 22nd meeting is the school board is considering removing a trustee from Middlesex County. This would mean London would have 7 votes and the rural communities including Oxford, Elgin and Middlesex would be left with five.
Ryan was surprised by the turnout last night. He says residents are confused and frustrated.
"They didn't understand what was going, why was it that people they elected, be it municipal councillors or school board trustees had done a bunch of work to hear rural voices and now they were hearing from their school boards that they weren't supposed to ever hear this report."
The School Board issued a press release this week stating that the draft report was found to lack key components, including consultations with Indigenous groups, equity seeking groups, and student groups. The TVSDB also had concerns about legal issues with the Education Act, the Ontario Human Rights Code.
Ryan states that the school board is the reason this draft report wasn't completed.
"There are voices lacking, and one of the last things we were going to do before the school board cancelled our last two meetings of the task force was to do focus groups to talk to people, so those missing voices would be their. If the school board has concerns about legal or human rights, I emailed school board staff and the Chair of the Board several times, asking them to tell us what those concerns are so we can address them."
Ryan says they feel like the rug was pulled out from under them.
"The school board cancelled meetings, withdrew staff support for it, so we weren't able to complete the work, those are all concerns that should have been addressed but the school board prevented them from being addressed and then was frustrated when we released it as a draft but they were the ones who only made it releasable as a draft."
TVDSB argues they do listen to rural voices and provide the same level of education for all students. Oxford County Trustee Graham Hart explains how the formation of Thames Valley District School Board in 1998 has created equitable learning opportunities for Oxford County students.
"Prior to the amalgamation into Thames Valley, the limited tax base in Oxford resulted in each student having fewer opportunities than urban students throughout the province. Recent new schools in Ingersoll, Tillsonburg, Norwich and Woodstock have helped to replace older schools with newer facilities that better meet the needs of our students."
Superintendent of Student Achievement Paul Sydor says that Thames Valley continues to invest in the achievement of rural students.
"We are committed to the ongoing improvement of rural schools and education programs. We've dedicated significant funding to County school renovations over the years to improve learning conditions for our rural students and are requesting further rural funding in our submission to the Ministry of Education’s 2022-23 Capital Priorities Grant program."
Director of Education Mark Fisher says it is there priority to ensure that students in all Thames Valley schools, be they rural, urban or suburban, have access to the same quality of education.
"We recognize the unique experiences of our rural students and will continue to commit school board resources toward the creation of accessible education opportunities for rural schools."
Ryan called the TVDSB press release is ridiculous. He notes that even if what they are saying is true and none of it is, it's up to the elected trustees to decide, not unelected staff.
The TVDSB will be voting on removing a trustee from Middlesex County and the future of the Rural Education Task force at their March 22nd meeting. Ryan and Elliott are encouraging rural residents to write their trustees and let them know how you feel about this.
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