Closing New Sarum PS “dumb”–Doug Tarry

Thames Valley District School Board trustees held their first of two nights of public hearings on the potential closings of several elementary schools in Malahide and Central Elgin, and the proposed building of large new ones in Belmont and southeast St. Thomas, Tuesday, May 2.

Most speakers on the first night opposed the closings of Sparta and New Sarum public schools, though some from Port Stanley and southeast St. Thomas favoured the recommendations put forward by the board’s senior administrators.

Developer Doug Tarry of St. Thomas pleaded to keep New Sarum open, in part because he believed suddenly rampant new housing starts in the city would overwhelm the proposed new school in the southeast of that community by the time it was built.

The hearings continue Wednesday night, May 3, starting at 6 p.m. at the board administration centre in London, when speakers will comment on the fates of Springfield, South Dorchester and Westminster Central schools.