Parents, school board spar over boundary changes

Proposed changes to Ottawa's English public elementary school boundaries aren't living up to the goal of a return to community schools, according to angry parents.

Last week, the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) released a new boundary map that would see about 11,000 students change schools in 2026, more than the usual 6,000 to 8,000.

Karyn Ostafichuk, OCDSB general manager of planning services, defended the changes at a trustee meeting Tuesday, saying the board did create community schools but those communities "may not be [the same as] how a community defines itself."

Parents and trustees at the meeting questioned how the board could frame the changes as creating "community schools," with one parent calling it "manipulative" because of how it would move their kids.

"The basis of what we're doing is to bring students back to their community schools, walking to schools," said Suzanne Nash, trustee for Zone 4. "[But] when we look at the proposal at this time, we're going to now put students back on buses."

Pino Buffone, OCDSB director of education, responded: "Our overarching principles … are not absolute. It's not binary.… It's not without some complexities."

Ostafichuk acknowledged that Nash's zone is one of a few that were challenging to divide, because some regions have more schools or students.

She pointed to Greely as an example of a community where not every child who identifies as being "from Greely" could fit into the small public school there.

"I know some people will define community often where their kids play hockey," she said. "We often will joke that it's wherever your LCBO is. Where do you shop for groceries? That's how you identify the community."

We often will joke that [community is] wherever your LCBO is.- Karyn Ostafichuk, OCDSB

Hilary Jensen, a parent of a child at Woodroffe Avenue Public School, called Ostafichuk's remarks "flippant" and said the nearest LCBO is closer to her home than the school her child would be relocated to.

"I am not here because I want easier access to the LCBO," she said.

"I am here because half the kids in my neighbourhood are being shipped across several major arterial roads and several major construction sites to another location in the city that is completely disconnected from where I call home."

'Deceitful' and 'manipulative'

Many parents have written or spoken to CBC since the restructuring plan was first announced in January with concerns that the board's community-based intentions are not matching reality.

Brent Smith, a parent on the edge of Hintonburg, said the OCDSB's goals "sounded really good" — but his children would be moved from a school 650 metres away from home to another up the hill in Centretown.

Activities like that mean his family won't entirely lose touch with the community, but the distance will make it harder to be involved.

"As working parents, there's a time crunch involved," he said.

Elizabeth MacDonald's five-year-old daughter is looking at a change from a 350-metre walk to a school three kilometres away.

She called the way that OCDSB is presenting its plan "deceitful" and "manipulative."

"These changes have been presented to us under the guise of creating more walkable community schools, fewer transitions for students, and less busing. Our neighbourhood is, in fact, experiencing the exact opposite."

In front of the Woodroffe Avenue school on Friday, MacDonald and about 50 other parents gathered to protest the changes.

OCDSB is holding community meetings to gather feedback on the boundary changes throughout March.