The Near North District School Board has confirmed that students in grades 9 through 12 will not begin the academic year at Parry Sound High School, which is partially demolished. Instead, students will transition to remote learning indefinitely. The abrupt change, communicated to families via email on the eve of the new school year, sparked significant frustration among parents. “As of last night, that was the official email that we received from the school board saying that 9 to 12 would be going online,” said Amy Black of the advocacy group Parents for Parry Sound. “There wasn’t an apology. There wasn’t a more of an explanation as to why.” Lack of a contingency plan With the school year about to start, many parents voiced deep concerns regarding the lack of a clear timeline or backup plan. Jacob and Lesley Kennedy, parents of a Grade 12 student, highlighted the potential impact on post-secondary applications. “What’s the backup plan? No timeline was given. No commitment to a backup plan,” said Lesley Kennedy. “All of the rush to accommodate backup plans in the last two weeks feels very ad hoc. Even if they did give a timeline, I don’t think I feel very comfortable in believing it.” The school board’s email to parents included a document addressing safety concerns and ended with only a vague assurance. No definitive return date was provided. The Parry Sound High School has five outstanding concerns raised by the Parry Sound Fire Department and Town of Parry Sound Building Department that must be addressed before the school opens. To ensure the safety of students, the board must re-establish two exterior fire exits that were closed during the demolition. A licensed board electrician must also look at the school. The school must also provide a final inspection of the fire safety system to the fire department. Air quality testing Also required is a third-party indoor air quality testing report to provide to the town’s building department. Finally, once all the above items are completed, the school must obtain approval for the revised Parry Sound High School safety plan before students and faculty can enter the building. Despite the challenges, the Kennedys expressed cautious optimism to CTV News. “I want to put some hope into it and I’m hopeful that there was five things outstanding to get the students into the old high school,” they said. “So I feel like once those five things are addressed, the kids will be going back … I’m hopeful that, you know, these can be cleared up at least within the first month.” Criticism of remote learning The plan to use remote learning has been met with sharp criticism on social media, where many parents compared the situation to the COVID-19 pandemic -- but without the same justification. “COVID was an emergency and remote (learning) was implemented. This is due to incompetence,” said Kim Durocher in the Parents for Parry Sound Facebook group. Another parent, Jennifer Limbert Gall, agreed. “Remote learning doesn’t work,” Limbert Gall wrote. “Last week, the board said they were not set up for remote learning, now that’s the solution? This is getting absolutely ridiculous! Already stressed out kids are getting mixed messages and last-minute changes that are increasing already high anxiety. Unacceptable!” Amy Black echoed the sentiment that students are receiving an inferior education. “The online learning, we just feel that our kids are being expected to accept subpar education,” Black told CTV News. “Compared to all the other students in the province, this whole entire situation, as we’ve been saying from Day 1, was avoidable.” Calls for ministerial intervention The parental frustration is compounded by a recent failure at the board level. Last week, a motion requesting the Minister of Education to conduct an investigation into the board and its oversight passed with the support of four of seven trustees. However, the motion was later deemed null and void because the director did not attend the meeting or appoint a designate in his absence, contravening the policy of the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association. A representative from the Near North District School Board confirmed that because the meeting was incorrectly called, all motions passed would need to be revisited at the next board meeting in September. The procedural failure has left parents feeling they have no recourse. “We’re really confused and frustrated at this point,” said Black. “If the ministry can’t step in and intervene, then who can? Who is holding the senior administration responsible (for the situation) accountable?” Meeting with local MPP Parents for Parry Sound, the group that also organized the rally earlier this month, met with MPP Graydon Smith to voice their frustrations. The meeting, however, provided little solace, said parents who spoke with CTV News. Black said the MPP repeatedly asked the parents to propose solutions. “He kept pushing, putting those questions to us when we stated at the very beginning, we are not here to table solutions,” she said. “This is not our job. This is your job. This is your job and the minister’s job.” With time and resources dwindling, the group has created a petition directly asking the Minister of Education to intervene, as they feel they have received no clear understanding from either the board or their MPP regarding plans for the school year. Elementary students unaffected While students from JK to Grade 6 are scheduled to attend McDougall Public School while Grade 7 and 8 students are to report to Nobel Public School, parents continue to seek answers about outstanding safety concerns related to the McDougall facility. It was also slated to be closed in favour of the construction-delayed Parry Sound K-12 school. The updated plan currently leaves these elementary arrangements unchanged.
