Crystal Clear or Clear as Mud

HALIFAX WEST HIGH AND CHARLES P. ALLEN HIGH FAMILIES OFSCHOOLS BOUNDARY REVIEW COMMITTEE 

Terms of Reference 

 Mandate: 

The Boundary Review Committee is to serve as a forum to develop and evaluate potential boundary  revisions for the Halifax West and CP Allen Family of Schools.

The Boundary Review Committee will develop a report that will recommend the catchment areas for  the above outlined schools and outline the opportunities and constraints of these potential Boundaries.

·         Clearly, the committee's MANDATE is to evaluate potential boundary revisions and recommend catchment areas. 

·         Comments and Questions: 

The Public Information meeting on January 27, 2014, did not provide any information to the public suggesting grade reconfiguration was part of this process.  This consideration was not presented in the terms of reference, outlined in the committees mandate or disclosed in the FAQ pamphlet handed out to the public.

o   Where did the direction to reconfigure grades come from? 

o   Why was the public not advised of such a direction? 

o   Why did HRSB present two scenarios for Park West School that included reconfiguring grades to remove the Grade 7-9 students from their School and their Community?

o   The title of the process is “Boundary Review”, is the public being mislead to the intent of this process?

o   Where is the transparency in this Boundary Review Process of which Park West School has been identified? 

o   What about the accountability to the Students, Communities, and Families of Park West?

What is a school boundary?

A school boundary refers to the designated geographic area around a school that includes residences “assigned” for student enrolment at the neighbourhood school.

o   “Designated geographic area” – Where is the confusion, is a definition required to provide clarity around this term?

o   How does grade reconfiguration fit into geographic?

What is a Boundary Review?

A Boundary Review is a process of assessing enrolment catchment areas for existing schools to determine the impact of changing a boundary, and to make recommendations based on the assessment to address potential overcrowding or underutilization of schools.

As stated above, a process of assessing enrolment catchment to address potential overcrowding or underutilization.

o   “Underutilization”   – A term not bolded or underlined or quoted often in this process, but why not?  The graphs (as you can view by following the link below) screams “underutilization”

o   Is overcrowding the “real” issue or is underutilization the “real” issue? 

Take the opportunity to review the graphs at the following link;

• Boundary Review Presentation PDF

Could there not be some cost saving measures to be considered as part of this Boundary Review Process rather than shifting students from one community to another to address the idea of  “overcrowding”?  

 

Is there transparency in this Boundary Review Process of which Park West School has been identified? 

Is there accountability to the Students, Families and Community of  Park West with this Boundary Review?