March 14, 2017
Jim Costello, Director of Education, Lambton Kent District School Board
Gary Girardi, Superintendent of Capital Planning and Accommodation
Brian McKay, Superintendent of Business
Re: Proposed Consolidation of Aberarder Central School, Bosanquet Central School, Kinnwood Central School and North Lambton Secondary School – into a Kindergarten to Grade 12 School
It is our understanding that the Lambton Kent District School Board’s Final Staff Report on the Consolidation of Aberarder Central School, Bosanquet Central School, Kinnwood Central School and North Lambton Secondary School into a Kindergarten to Grade 12 School – Report No: B-17-19 recommends that the Board approve the consolidation of the abovenoted schools on a site to be determined as of September 1, 2020 and the submission of grant applications to the Ministry of Education for funding for the construction of a new school and the acquisition of land and that the Board then close Aberarder Central School, Bosanquet Central School, Kinnwood Central School and North Lambton Secondary School (Final Staff Report No. B-17-19, page 19) (“Recommendation #1”).
The purpose of this letter is to advise you that we believe that the most northerly portion of Lambton County requires a viable public school at both the elementary and secondary level.
Farm families substantially contribute to the Provincial economy and we believe that in order to keep farm families on the farm, farmers require access to a variety of affordable services and infrastructure. This includes our schools. As noted in a letter dated December 9, 2015 to the Ministry of Education, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture accurately outlined the importance of schools in rural communities as follows:
Schools play a very important role in rural communities. Not only are the schools a place where our children spend a large portion of their days being educated; they are also our children’s playgrounds, adult learning centres, child care centres, community centres, recreational facilities, and meeting halls. Without such facilities available, it becomes difficult to maintain a viable population and economic base in rural areas.
As farmers we are committed to the rural communities in which we live and believe that access to education is of critical importance not only to the next generation of farmers, but ultimately to all of the children who live in the rural communities in which we live. We are saddened at the proposed loss of the rural schools named above; however, if these schools must be closed then we are in support of the LKDSB’s Recommendation No. #1, a new school built on newly acquired land ideally near the Shores Recreation Centre in the Town of Forest so that a Community Hub can be created in the Town of Forest.
Sincerely,
~Al Langford~
President, Lambton Federation of Agriculture