AT 3.08 THIS afternoon Shirl Delarue received an e-mail from the Ministry of Education informing her that a facilitator has been appointed to review the process that ended with the decision to close PCVS. They have not yet named the individual.
A huge thank you to lawyers, Bill Lockington and Emmet Connolly, along with the hard-working legal team, all of whom were invaluable in drafting the content for the request for review. Was it six or seven drafts?
This news is profoundly affirming.
I almost regret that Christmas follows so quickly as we have to do tedious things like eating turkey wings and drinking too many eggnogs. But be assured we have been preparing for some time in anticipation of this great news.
It’s clear that we will have far more opportunities to “make our case” with a facilitator than we ever did with the trustees. We understand that the facilitator must review the process only, but many of us are confident that through our discussions with him or her, we will be able to address the broader narrative that goes something like “closing PCVS is an absurd decision and these are some of the reasons why.”
We have had in the last while very good conversations with the Mayor and Jeff Leal as various members of our PCVS supporters urge them to advocate for the school. They are prepared for what comes next. We’ll continue those conversations.
I urge you to read the lead editorial in Saturday’s Examiner. It offered wonderful support for the value of slowing down the process and of listening to the community.
It was a much needed morale booster after the Board’s 8 to 3 vote against the motion for delay on Thursday night – we fully expected that outcome but “hope springs eternal.” And thank you to the delegates who made excellent presentations to the Board. The turnout of PCVS supporters was excellent – best yet.
Support grows
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SEVEN FORMER trustees have composed a letter to the Honourable Laurel Broten decrying the failure of trustees to engage in any kind of meaningful dialogue with us. That letter will be mailed today and sent to the local papers.
We continue to add to our growing list of support from the community. We have 15 letters now, including letters from MPP Jeff Leal, the Major and City Council, the Police Chief, the DBIA of Peterborough and County and 11 other community organization supporters. We would like to collect at least 20 letters to substantiate for the facilitator our contention that KPR virtually ignored the MOE direction to consider the “value to the community” or the “value to the local economy” as two of the four principal foci of the ARC.
In the next 10 days or so we begin the task of reworking our committee structure to best position ourselves for the review. We have an excellent case; the Ministry agrees and that’s the shot in the arm we all need.
On this note. We have overlooked something important. We have never published a list of our committees with our committee members. Thank you to a supporter for bringing this to our attention. We will happily rectify this in the New Year. Our apologies for giving folks any notion that we are a covert, 007 underground operation.
And a big thank you to Alison Casey and her Fundraising Team for launching what will be two “do-not-miss” events in January and February: The Art Auction on January 20th and the Concert on February 26th.
As many of you know, Kate and Janelle YouTube fame will appear. And I hear there is a surprise.
Within the first 10 days in January we will organize another general meeting where you will have a chance to ask questions and be updated on what we know. Details to follow.
Two requests
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MAY I end with two requests:
Please find the time to attend the PCVS gala at PCVS this Tuesday evening 20 December. It will be a great evening and a wonderful way to support the staff and students of PCVS in their efforts to celebrate the season and promote their Spread the Net campaign. (Note: not a Peterborough Needs PCVS function.) Would somebody out there offer to take some pictures – we could post them on our Website or on Facebook. Let me know if you’re willing.
We need somebody to take on the following task: compile a list of delegations that we’ve made to the Board. It would require going onto the KPR website under Board meetings. Here’s the job. From May to December 2011, list the PCVS delegations, including date, name of the presenter, and a one-sentence descriptor of each presentation. This will be part of our evidence for the facilitator that we attempted to “talk to the trustees.” If two or three people volunteer, it might take only an hour or two. Please let me know today or tomorrow. Timeline for completion: by end of first week of January
Thanks, and happy holidays
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IT’S ALWAYS dangerous to mention a few peoples’ names when so many people have been working so hard. (Send criticism in the New Year). Thank you all for making this an unforgettable campaign thus far. We all gain confidence and resolve from each other and from the extraordinary strength of this community’s voice.
We are far from done.
Merry Christmas, happy holidays to all
Joanne Brown, chair, communications
