Daily news article

Kids protest to keep school; School district plans to close> NDSS and Woodlands Secondary> The Daily News (Nanaimo)> Friday, October 26, 2007>
Students at Nanaimo District Secondary School and their parents feel ignored by school district trustees who propose to close their school and Woodlands Secondary. Trustees sent a district-wide facilities renewal plan to the Ministry of Education in September, outlining their plan to replace the two schools with a new one that could house 1,100 students. Both schools are now pitted against one another to fight for which site gets the new building, according to some parents. If the ministry approves the plan, trustees could also close Woodbank, Mount Benson, Dufferin Crescent and Rutherford elementary schools. Trustees first announced the proposal to close the two high schools in July, but since then, parents of students from NDSS have been nearly silent. That was until Wednesday's regular board meeting, when even the school's football team showed their support as a crowd of protestors overflowed the district's board office. "Our huge delegation of support at the board meeting (Wednesday) was our notice to the trustees that the NDSS community does care and that we intend to be fully engaged in this process," said Barb Humpherville, treasurer for NDSS parent advisory committee. "I think we made it clear that we have an inordinate level of support from our parents, students and from the neighbourhood. There are other stakeholders affected who will be providing us support including Gabriola residents, feeder schools and students in the French Immersion program." Even though the proposal to close NDSS has been circulating since July, Humpherville and other parents said trustees should have contacted them before coming up with their new plan. They feel they are well behind Woodlands parents and students who have been lobbying trustees for months. Board of Education chairman Jamie Brennan told the Daily News that no parent has been kept in the dark. "I don't know why they were surprised about it," he said. "But the bottom line is, we're not deciding to close those schools. We're not in a consultation process."
Not all parents feel ignored. Robyn Tonack said she should have made an effort to find out what was happening with the district plan. "I only feel left in the dark because I haven't actively pursued the information," she said from the sidelines of her son's football game at NDSS.
"But, still, no notices have gone out to any parents." One of the biggest frustrations for parents is the battle that will ensue between the two high schools. Humpherville would have preferred to have both schools involved in the discussions before NDSS and Woodlands were targeted for closure. "It's unfortunate that we're at this point. Now each school will put their best foot forward and we're pitted against one another. That's unfair." DSpalding@nanaimodailynews.com>> 250-729-4231>