Trustees vote to close Parkside Secondary in Dundas

Local school board trustees have voted to close Parkside Secondary School in Dundas and move its students to nearby Highland Secondary.

Trustees voted 9-2 to close the school of 595 students in the core of Dundas. Highland will receive at least $15 million in repairs to accommodate the new students.

If the board ratifies the decision on May 28, Parkside will close as of June 2014 and its students will attend a renovated Highland in September 2014.

The trustees first narrowly voted down the notion of closing both Highland and Parkside and building a new high school on the Highland property on Governor's Road.

The proposed 1,000-student school would have cost about $25 million. The board would have approached the Ministry of Education for at least some of that money.

But some felt asking for money for a new high school in Dundas, in Hamilton's inner city, and potentially on the Mountain as a result of another current accommodation review, would be too much to ask.

"We can't make a strong business case in the way we could make a strong business case in [the lower city]," said trustee Judith Bishop.

'The right decision to make'

Highland parent Marg Greaves was disappointed they voted down a new school, but a renovated Highland was her second choice, she said.

"While it's not ideal, as far as I'm concerned, it was the right decision to make."

Parkside is at 77 per cent capacity. Highland, with 756 students, is at 82 per cent. Parkside needs $5,133,259 in renovations whereas Highland needs $11,649,454.

But some trustees worried Parkside's smaller lot  — 1.6 hectares compared to Highland's 7.3 hectares — limited expansion potential.

Also, to accommodate the projected 1,200 students of the combined schools, Parkside would need about 43,000 additional square feet. Highland would need a new single gym, six science labs, an expanded cafeteria, three more classrooms and other smaller renovations.

'A long road to go'

Parkside parent Patrick Rowan has been part of a group fighting to save the downtown Dundas school. The fight isn't over for them, he said.

The group will be sending information packages to MPPs, he said, and examining other options.

"There's a long road to go before any spades are put into the ground, and we're quite confident Parkside is going to remain as a school."

Last week, the board voted to close Delta, Parkview and Sir John A. Macdonald high schools in the lower city.

On May 23, trustees will vote on high schools on the Mountain. Sherwood, Hill Park and Mountain are recommended for closure.