School administrators stick to plan for closures

After months of public hearings and the opposition of many communities, Thames Valley District School Board administrators are still recommending the closures of Springfield, South Dorchester, Sparta, New Sarum and Westminster Central public schools.

Pupils from them would be either moved to two planned large new elementary schools in Belmont and southeast St. Thomas, or shifted to existing schools that will remain open, including Summers Corners, McGregor, Davenport and Port Stanley.

Administrators essentially dismissed opposition from many parents to school closures as misplaced sentimentality.

The Belmont school, with space for over 500, would draw pupils from as much as nearly 20 kilometres away, as would Port Stanley with an expanded catchment area. Sparta would re-open as a French Immersion school, drawing pupils from a wide area of Elgin County.

School board trustees are to receive the report from senior administrators at a meeting on Tuesday, April 11.