The Municipality of Whitestone is requesting the Near North District School Board halt their plan to put kindergarten to Grade 6 students into the new Parry Sound Mega School.
At a meeting last week, council passed a lengthy motion calling for significant changes to the school boards current plan, due to substantial population growth that has occurred across West Parry Sound.
The motion asks that:
- Â the NNDSB revise their elementary school plan so that K-6 students already enrolled in McDougall Public School can remain, and students enrolled in Nobel Public School can be integrated into McDougall.
- Â that if operating the McDougall Public School is not a viable long-term option due to needed repairs, that the NNDSB immediately begin conversations with the Ministry of Education to seek capital funding to build a brand-new school.
The lengthy motion states that “the seven municipalities of West Parry Sound have repeatedly and unanimously passed municipal resolutions requesting that the NNDSB pause their K to 12 intention, and re-evaluate.”
Concerns were also raised regarding the information the school board is using to inform their decisions, which the board had previously acknowledged.
In June, the Near North District School Board created an ad-hoc committee, which will gather and report on the current enrollment data informing the new JK to Grade 12 mega school. That report will be provided by the end of the upcoming school year.
