Power for Power's Sake

"I am not interested in power for power's sake, 

but I'm interested in power that is moral, that is right and that is good." 

~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

...if only everyone felt that way.

A recent in-class overview of governance of education in Canada has me pondering the role of provincial government in education. Typically, I think it is desirable for the power structure to be bottom-heavy, since the closer to the actual educating that you are, the more you will understand the dynamics of your local situation. However, I really think that the provincial government has a responsibility to act as a safety net against the kinds of local politics and in-fighting that can make for poor decisions.

What brought this to life for me is the issue currently being faced by my hometown community, surrounding a decision to close my old high school.

You see, the Board had been looking at closing one of the city’s five high schools, citing declining enrolment as the rationale. That’s reasonable enough on the surface. Except that the process, as it turns out, was riddled with error, faulty logic, procedural flaws, and breaks with policy. There are provincial acts and municipal bylaws being breached by this particular school being closed, and the members who voted against the closure (in a vote which was supposed to be unanimous to pass, but was not) signed a minority report stating that the process was flawed.

Still, the Board stands firm on its decision to close the school.

The City Council is supportive of the massive public outcry against the closure, and has requested intervention from the Province. The Education Minister did send a facilitator to hear the concerns, and she was overwhelmed with fifty speakers, in a meeting which, although scheduled for two hours, ran for five. But the facilitator has made it clear that she is not there to judge the decision, but to investigate possible breaches of policy. And in any case, the Education Minister is powerless to overturn the Board’s decision, even in the event of policy breaches – the best that she can do is recommend that the board reflect on its decision.

Meanwhile, public support to keep PCVS open gains strength every day. Teachers in the Division have apparently been advised to remain silent on the subject or risk censure, but students, alumni, parents, community members, local politicians – people from a wide range of perspectives within the community – are rallying to protest the closure. One of the speakers at the public review was even a medical doctor, who cited PCVS as the exceptional school which offers an accepting and bullying-free environment, and to which medical professionals refer students who are suffering at other schools.

Apart from its proud history as one of the longest-standing high schools in Canada, founded in 1827, and with alumni such as Prime Minster Lester B. Pearson, RIM co-founder Jim Balsillie, high court judge Michael Moldaver, comedian Sean Cullen, and many others – there are a whole host of reasons that PCVS makes a poor choice for closure. It has the highest enrolment rate, at 90% of capacity, and the lowest decline in enrolment of all five schools. It hosts a celebrated integrated arts program. Its building is second-best in the city, with lowest maintenance and capital costs. Lowest busing costs. I could go on and on.

Still, the Board does not budge.

The media attention that the potential closure has attracted has been enormous. Protests in Ottawa, grassroots media (e.g., YouTube) explosions, commentary on CBC by Rick Mercer, coverage by the Globe and Mail … it is hard to fathom a stronger reaction, a more volatile climate. The coffers for an anticipated legal action grow steadily.

And yet the Board stands firm.

This kind of thing really makes me question how on earth we don’t have safeguards in place. Yes, these people were elected. No, you can bet they won’t be elected again – but the damage may be done by then. Boards acting in ways which don’t reflect the electorate’s wishes does, unfortunately, happen from time to time. I think that there really needs to be a safety net to protect against this. I can scarcely imagine that the Minister of Education has not got the legal capacity to strike down a decision like this. Perhaps not to make a different decision on their behalf, but for goodness’ sake at least to go back to status quo, and start fresh.

Other factors may be at play here as well. When I was a student at PCVS (yes, that was in the age of the dinosaur), the school board oversaw the schools in the city. Maybe the county - but it was those same five high schools, and the elementary schools (of which there are fewer now ...). But several years ago, in an effort to reduce the number of school boards across the province, zones were re-written, and now huge areas are covered by one school board. In the case of this one, the borders now extend down to Lake Ontario ... well, take a look at the map. Imagine the difference between just the immediate area, versus the new borders. The result is that the board is made up from throughout this huge area, and members are simply not as in touch with the local scene as actual residents of the area are. I don't think this decision would have taken place, had the school district not been overextended like this.

If you are wanting to see more information about PCVS, you can certainly come up with plenty by simply googling it. To get the full picture, I recommend visiting the Peterborough Needs PCVS blog here: http://peterboroughneedspcvs.com/.