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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, Ju ne 28 ,2 01 8 | 46464 After nearly 50 years, St. John Catholic Elementary School in Oakville will close its doors for good on Friday (June 29). As part of the Halton Catholic District School Board's (HCDSB) northeast consolidation plan, St. John's will merge with the St. Michael Catholic Ele- mentary School campus and shut down in the fall. Its current population of 146 students will be dis- persed to neighbouring schools. Brian Melanson, princi- pal at St. John, said emo- tions have been high for students, faculty and fami- lies over the closure. "As we faced the chang- es, the community has em- braced the inevitable, com- ing together throughout the year to support various activities in honouring the special memories, the laughter, the tears and the many stories that have made St. John Catholic School the unique, caring community we all know and love," he said. "We aren't just leaving a school, we are leaving our 'home.'" St. John held an open house last week where it in- vited past teachers, princi- pals and students to remi- nisce about their time at the 140 Mansfield Dr. ele- mentary school to "high- light the unique closeness this community has dem- onstrated throughout its existence," explained Me- lanson. "Having only been a principal here for the last three years, this is the qual- ity of the school that has impacted me; the tightness and love of community ev- eryone here represents, which made it feel like home," he added. St. John Catholic School originally opened to 140 stu- dents in the fall of 1969 as an "open-concept" model, of- fering kindergarten tofering kindergarten tof Grade 6. Over the decades, the school went through vari- ous changes, such as add- ing walls to its open con- cept areas and expanding classes to Grade 8. During the school's his- tory, there was a period where its enrolment even- tually went beyond capaci- ty to more than 700 stu- dents and nine portables had to be built to accommo- date its growing popula- tion. The school also under- went extensive renovations with the addition of six classrooms, a gymnasium and library. In 2017, the HCDSB had proposed a school be con- structed in northeast Oak- ville to consolidate the stu- dents of St. John, St. Mi- chael and Holy Family schools, but that was reject- ed by the Ministry of Edu- cation stating the cost was prohibitive. "The board should con- sider utilizing the available space at these schools be- fore requesting funding forfore requesting funding forf new construction. The board may request minis- try funding support for their efforts to better uti- lize the available space in future rounds of capital pri-future rounds of capital pri-f orities," read a 2017 state- ment from the ministry. As a result, HCDSB went ahead with its alter- native plan, which still in- cluded closing St. John as of fall 2018 and Holy Family as of fall 2020. St. John students living below Upper Middle Road would be heading to St. Mi- chael in September, while those living above the street would go to Our Lady of Peace Catholic Elemen- tary School. Students at Holy Family will eventually be redirect- ed to St. Marguerite d'You- ville Catholic Elementary School. EDUCATION St. John Catholic Elementary School closing after nearly 50 years 'We aren't just leaving a school, we are leaving our home': Principal Brian Melanson JOHN BKILA jbkila@metroland.com HCDSB logo "Having only been a principal here for the last three years, this is the quality of the school that has impacted me: the tightness and love of community everyone here represents, which made it feel like home." - Principal Brian Melanson The Ministry of Educa- tion is preventing the Hal- ton public and Catholic school boards from renew- ing the Education Devel- opment Charges bylaw - a move than can result in the loss of millions of dol- lars for both boards. The bylaw, adopted in June 2013, expired on June 24 this year, and the Min- istry of Education has deemed its renewal a polit- ically sensitive matter and has announced a halt until the new provincial govern- ment is sworn in, which could potentially take weeks, the board said. Through the Education Development Charges (EDC) bylaw, developers of residential and non-resi- dential projects are re- quired to pay levies, which allow the Halton boards to purchase land for new school sites as well as put funds toward any remain-funds toward any remain-f ing EDC deficits. Eighty- five per cent of educationfive per cent of educationf land costs are recovered from residential develop-from residential develop-f ment and 15 per cent from non-residential develop- ment. Halton District School Board consultant Jack Ammendolia, of Watson & Associates Economists Ltd., told the board of trustees on June 20 that the bylaw renewal block- age will result in a month- ly loss of about $5 million for both boards combinedfor both boards combinedf and approximately a $2.8 million monthly loss for the Halton District School Board alone (about $127,000 per day). Halton District School Board chair Andréa Gre- benc is calling the situa- tion a crisis and says it will have a direct impact on students from both boards. "The information that is coming to us personally makes me angry. I can't be- lieve that the Ministry of Education would deprive us of the ability to pur- chase land and to have us drain our coffers for politi- cal reasons, on whim," she said. "We are heading into the construction season. We are going to be losingWe are going to be losingW millions of dollars. This could delay schools. Could this affect our classrooms? Yes."Yes."Y Ammendolia said the situation is unprecedent- ed and he wants to reas- sure the board that all re- quirements have been met for the bylaw to be passed,for the bylaw to be passed,f save for approval. "I want the board to be confident that we exceed- ed what we were supposed to do," Ammendolia said, adding that up until last week, there was no indica- tion of any issues regard- ing the bylaw renewal. Trustees are asking for Halton residents to reach out to their local MPPs in an effort to expedite this process. NEWS Halton school boards blocked from renewing Education Development Charges bylaw Halton District School Board blocked from renewing bylaw. Graham Paine/Metroland Hold on bylaw renewal could cost the Halton public and Catholic school boards millions of dollars VERONICA APPIA vappia@metroland.com