Committee of the Whole: March 4, 2025
The Committee of the Whole meeting for the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board took place on March 4, 2025, with me as chair. A Trustee brought forward a notice of motion with one recommendation and staff brought forward two reports for discussion.
Please note that a motion was brought forward to defer Report 25-015 and Notice of Motion for Anti-Racism and Anti-Hate to a future meeting. I voted in favour of the deferral.
Staff brought forward Report 25-016 on the Comprehensive Report on the Elementary Program Review: Proposed School Boundaries, Grades and Program Configurations for discussion. This report is the second report of the Elementary Program Review which provides an outline of the proposed changes to attendance boundaries, grade configurations and program offerings for each of the District’s elementary schools as part of the program review at the elementary level. It also provides additional context with respect to transitional provisions, including plans for phasing out existing programs. For more information on the program review please visit Engage OCDSB or contact me to discuss the proposed changes. During the discussion my colleagues asked the following questions:
Question (timestamp: 36:02): Why are we planning on having some schools over capacity and what is the resourcing plan that will experience significant changes?
Answer: We are looking for system wide refresh of resources across the District. Site-based renovations are a part of the normal refresh process and in the operational plan. The shift in grade configuration at schools can be a good thing as it will allow us to refresh the school overall and make it the most viable school. Change for the areas can be a good thing for everyone in the District. Implementation is slated for a year later to ensure we can properly serve our school community.
Question (timestamp: 45:45): What will happen with transportation in the district? Will walking distances, bell times and catchment areas for transportation eligibility be analyzed?
Answer: Staff are not looking at putting the cart before the horse. There is a project team that is working on various aspects of the proposal and operational implementation plan. Looking at the walking distances, bell times, and catchment areas for transportation eligibility are part of the annual review by the Ottawa Student Transportation Authority, and this would be a larger change management practice but is part of the regular review.
Question (timestamp: 45:45): When will our community have an idea of what we are doing for the Extended Daycare Program in the District?
Answer: Staff are not looking at putting the cart before the horse. The vast majority of our sites currently have an Extended Daycare Program, there are some sites where feasibility is not possible. Childcare may be needed at new sites under this proposal. More details will follow in late April.
Question (timestamp 50:00): Why can we not grandparent all students?
Answer: It is hard to know who exactly needs to be grandparenting into each school. There are a number of conditions that need to be met, and the biggest concern is that we are trying to make sure we are leaving schools with viables programs and student populations. Doing it site by site would leave inequities across the system.
During the discussion, I asked the following questions (timestamp: 2:15:47):
Question: Special education is not highlighted in this report the boundaries of these classes are independent from the school catchment area. Given the proposed boundaries, if the 39 Specialized Program Classes were to continue, what impact would it have on the Elementary Program Review?
Answer: From a planning standpoint, if the classes continue, there will be no impact on the room available in each school.
Question: Can we say that one of the benefits of this review is a reduction in the use of portables across the District? Can we specifically say which schools will have portables removed and will any schools have portables added?
Answer: There is a better balance of portables across the District but we will never be able to eliminate portables.
Question: I understand we have reports coming forward on April 8 and April 22, can you confirm that additional information on schools that are currently configured for a Kindergarten to Grade 8, if they are slated to be transitioned to Grade 4 to Grade 8, what the renovation plan?
Answer: That is the intention of the report available on April 8. It will not be a perfect implementation plan; it will be high-level. Not a dollar-for-dollar renovation plan.
Question: There is a lot of concern from the Forest Valley and Henry Larsen community and splitting up siblings but having students now requiring students to bus that could previously walk.
Answer: There are a number of communities impacted. There is an impact of the new school. There is just over 800 students and 1,400 places. You have that situation with dual track at Forest Valley and Convent Glen feeding into Henry Larsen.
Question: We have previously asked if we were prepared to hear from the community and not make changes if that is what the community said. I appreciate that we heard that the programs do need to change, but I would like to know what the message is to the parents that do not want to see a change or are being affected by the boundary changes. Can you justify this review and proposed changes if they leave our district?
Answer: There has not been a person who has said what are you talking about and why are you doing this. The principles and overarching goals are key to what we are doing. Change management is always difficult. Bilingual programming will be more readily available district wide.
Please note, that the opinions expressed here are entirely my own and do not reflect an official position of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board or the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board of Trustees. Please note answers from staff are paraphrased, the recording can be found here if you would like to watch the entire meeting. You can also refer to the Frequently Asked Questions on Engage OCDSB for more information n the Elementary Program Review here or my website here for more information on the Elementary Program Review. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me using my contact form here.
Key links
Video for the Committee of the Whole on March 4, 2025
Agenda for the Committee of the Whole on March 4, 2025
Report 25-016: Comprehensive Report on the Elementary Program Review: Proposed School Boundaries, Grades and Program Configurations
