Over 50 residents protested in front of Halton District School Board's (HDSB) main office in Burlington last evening, angry over redirecting their children from White Oaks Secondary School (their catchment high school at present) to T.A. Blakelock High School 15 km away, starting next school year.
Upper Oaks Community (UOC) is a relatively new neighbourhood, rapidly growing northeast of Dundas Street and Trafalgar Road since 2016.
Elementary-age kids from the community attend River Oaks, Falgarwood or Munn's public schools in either the English or French Immersion programs. UOC residents worry that the redirection will impact about 20-30 high school children yearly until the new North Oakville High School starts, earliest in 2025.
A report was shared with the board of trustees last year, outlining the redirection that the UOC residents are frustrated with. Though the report mentions school bus transportation, residents wonder if any kid would enjoy an hour-long drive from Upper Oaks to T.A. Blakelock High School on Rebecca Street.
They also submitted their letter of protest to the board members and trustees present at the new trustees' onboarding ceremony. In the letter, the parents shared that "the majority of homeowners and parents were not aware or being consulted with such decision substantively before its approval, and we all find such lack of transparency extremely disturbing and disrespectful as individuals standing on the receivers' end."
They are also afraid that if buses delay or don't turn up, parents will have to cross three major roads: Dundas, Upper Middle and Rebecca Street, and take QEW to drive to the school during peak hours, not to mention traffic delays and inclement weather.
"Ironically, most of the Oakville secondary schools still have the capacity to host large numbers of international students. This is outrageously unfair that instead of sending to the high schools nearby, our students are absurdly being routed to the farthest secondary school," Jim Wang, one of the protesters, shared with Oakville News.
The UOC residents' proposal highlights are:
- Put the current Redirection Plan on hold until a further comprehensive solution is found that is evidence-based and publicly supported;
- Reinstate the previous school boundary policy;
- UOC students be redirected to Iroquois Ridge High School or Oakville Trafalgar High School, capacity permitting.
Ward 7's Region and Town councillor, Nav Nanda and Town councillor, Dr Scott Xie, confirmed the residents had recently contacted them with their grievances. They brought it to Kelly Amos, the school board trustee's attention.
The protestors also maintain that they "will pursue further actions…through all available avenues" if they fail to "reach a consensus with HDSB and the Town."
They also encourage others impacted by this redirection to sign the petition at www.stopredirection.ca.