News Release
May 27, 2009

At a Special Board meeting held on May 26, 2009, Trustees of the Durham District School Board passed a motion to approve the recommendation of the Accommodation Review Committee for Central Whitby involving six schools.  Three of the schools, in need of significant repair, were identified as potential closure/consolidation candidates including Florence M. Heard Public School, Leslie McFarlane Public School, and Palmerston Avenue Public School.  Three additional schools, Captain Michael VandenBos Public School, Jack Miner Public School, and Pringle Creek Public School, were included for consideration as enrolment and program moves.

The recommendation included the following:

That the Durham District School Board approve the implementation of Scenario 1, as the accommodation solution for the Central Whitby area of schools.  This approved accommodation solution will now be forwarded to the Ministry of Education for funding approval.

As part of the Central Whitby accommodation solution, the Board of Trustees approved the closure of Leslie McFarlane PS for June 2009, with the students from Leslie McFarlane PS moving to Pringle Creek PS for September 2009.  Additional construction proposed as part of the Central Whitby accommodation solution will be dependent upon Ministry of Education funding approval.

For additional information on the proposed timing of the Central Whitby accommodation solution please see the timelines as posted on the DDSB Website in the Staff Report, March 2009 - Section 7.2.3 - Scenario One Implementation.

“The Durham District School Board would like to thank all of the members for the Accommodation Review Committee for Central Whitby for their hard work on this extensive process,” said Chair of the Durham District School Board, Larry Jacula.  “The work done by this committee, combined with the input from our community, will go a long way to meeting the program and facility needs of our students in Central Whitby,” Jacula added.

The recommendation must now be submitted to the Ministry of Education for review and approval.

The Durham District School Board is responsible for public education in the rural settings of Uxbridge, Brock and Scugog Townships and the urban settings of Ajax, Whitby, Pickering and Oshawa. The Board employs more than 7,000 teaching and educational services staff. With 137 elementary and secondary schools and learning centres, the Board accommodates more than 70,000 regular day students and thousands more who take advantage of a wide variety of continuing education and adult credit courses. More information about the DDSB can be found on the Board's Website at www.durham.edu.on.ca.

-30-