After two heated discussions with the school board, parents of Grant Alternative School decided unanimously the best option for the students is to have the facility renovated, even if only for temporary occupancy.

Teachers, parents and Ottawa-Carleton District School Board officials met at Woodroffe High School on Feb. 7 and again on Feb. 23 to discuss the boardıs Grant Alternative School Accommodation Study.

At the Feb. 23 meeting, board officials stated they are no longer looking at co-locating Grant with either Severn or Regina.  They did admit their sole focus, in terms of co-location, has shifted to J.H. Putman.

To make J.H. Putman feasible to accommodate the Grant students, if decided as the best option, board officials said one or two portables would need to be put in place.  As well, certain modification to the building would be necessary to facilitate the younger students.

The study comes as a result from a school board motion, raised last fall by area trustee Margaret Lange, to look at possible options for either keeping student sin the aging building or accommodating them elsewhere.

Parents had initially approached Ms. Lange to look at accommodation options because of the deterioration of the building.

"Please remember that what we have here is not an exhaustive list of choices.  We are open to listening to what you want and what you suggest would be best for our local school communities", said Karyn Carty Ostafichuk, manager of planning and transportation for the school board.  "We want to come to a consensus with you as to what would be best for everyone."

The options listed in the accommodation study include: renovating or rebuilding Grant on its current site; co-locating Grant with Severn Public School, Regina Public School, or J.H. Putman Public School; or relocating the program to a vacant facility such as St. Thomas Catholic School.

Before board staff could discuss the proposed options for Grant, those attending made their frustration about the situation evident at the earlier meeting.

When it was said that attendance at Grant has been declining since 2000, one woman stood up and said the school has seen a decline in recent years because of its condition.  Others agreed, saying not enough money has been put into repairs for Grant, resulting in the local lack of interest to enroll students there.

"We are aware that there is a perception out there about the Grant building that does hurt (attendance)," agreed Ms. Carty Ostafichuk.

Shelley Rivier, co-chair of the Grant Alternative School Parent Council, made a comment that was met with a thunderous round of applause.  "The bottom line at Grant is that practically 100% of our parents want to stay there, at that site.  If repairing Grant is in fact an option, we might as well close up our books and go home now because that is what we want."

Ms. Lange stepped up and explained that a complete renovation of the building just will not happen.

The accommodation study has determined that $2.7 million would be required for short-term repairs to flooring and for mechanical and electrical upgrades.  Another $1 million would be needed to repair the school's roof and parapet to prevent further water leakage.

The total cost to rebuild Grant, with a capacity for 300 students and a total of 3,250 square metres, would be approaching $7 million.

"Realistically and logically, the board will want to use the school space it already has," said Ms. Lange.  "I have heard from parents that patching up a leaky roof is just not good enough, that the kids deserve better."

"Fixing the problems at the school that exist now would be just putting a bandage on the situation and we don't want that" agreed Ms. Carty Ostafichuk.  "We don't want to be back here in a few years discussing the exact same issue.  Any repairs we do will only thinly veil the closure threats that you have been dealing with.  And really, how long will the patchwork keep these threats at bay?"

Parents argued the board just wants to shut down the school because of the decline in enrolment and the condition of the building.

"Trust me, this is not a closure study.  We are seeing declines in all our suburbs.  In Ottawa, all areas inside the greenbelt have lower enrolments than previous years" Ms. Carty Ostafichuk stressed to the audience.

"I assure you, there is no hidden agenda here.  We just know that something must be done about this school" said Peter Gamwell, superintendent of instruction.

Board officials came back to the second consultation meeting on Feb. 23 with estimated costs to keep the Grant building open a little longer.

To seal up the building and stop the continuing water infiltration, the board reiterated at the second meeting that $1 million is needed.  Another $2.7 million is being suggested to help make the building environment more "comfortable".  What officials at the meeting could not answer was how long either amount would keep the school open for.

"I'm not saying it would be a bad investment, but we really do have a huge cash flow problem right now and I just cannot guarantee anything" said Ms. Carty Ostafichuk.  The board is being pulled in a million directions for that million dollars and that amount is not just like chump change."

A few parents attending the Feb. 7 meeting brought up relocating the program to the vacant building of St. Thomas Catholic School in the Crystal Beach/Lakeview community.

Ms. Rivier said, while the majority of parents from Grant want the school to remain at its current location, the most popular second option would be to relocate the program to St. Thomas.  From surveys distributed by the school's parent council, 40% of parents responding said relocating to St. Thomas was the best second choice.

"I think we need to make it clear that even if we come to a consensus here tonight that we want to relocate to St. Thomas, it is not ours for the taking" Ms. Carty Ostafichuk stressed.  "We have spoken with the Ottawa Carleton Catholic School Board and the answer received over the phone is that the facility is not available for our consideration at this time."

After reviewing this option at the request of parents, board members came back on Feb. 23 with figures regarding purchasing new building entirely for Grant.

"Because of the already large surplus in pupil places and the projected decline in enrolment in Ottawa west, it is highly unlikely the board will purchase a new, stand-alone facility for Grant" said Estelle Butler, a planner with the school board.

Ms. Butler said that there are currently 550 surplus pupil places in Severn, Grant, Regina and J.H. Putman alone.

Questions and comments on the Grant Alternative Accommodation Study can be sent to GrantAlternativeSchool.AccomodationStudy@ocdsb.ca.

A final decision regarding the accommodation of Grant students will be made by the school board in April.