I have just learned that Trustee Lynn Scott has submitted a motion regarding the new Longfields Davidson Heights Grade 7 to 12 Secondary School that will be presented THIS THURSDAY DECEMBER 21ST. I am sure that you have now read the board motion entitled Longfields Davidson Heights – cost of construction, Trustee Scott.

If I told you that I was concerned right now that would be the understatement of the year because I am in fact astounded that such a motion would be made just prior to Christmas. This is very familiar for us in Barrhaven as time and time again something comes up out of left field and we have to scramble to prepare and present with little if any notice. We were told that this issue would not come up again until February otherwise we would have organized ourselves to present on the day of your inaugural meeting. We did not do this out of respect to your board and here we have this motion timing out curiously when I just heard form counsellor Jan Harder this evening, “Scott, I was just waiting to have access to my City contacts tomorrow to let you know the good news that staff told me the site plan (for the new school) was coming in for approval!”

Once again last minute notice to force us to come up with presentations for this Thursday AND as good fortune would have it I am writing a final exam that night so unless my Psychology professor will provide a small miracle I won’t even be able to be present let alone present on this issue so I will now have to see if the University will accommodate me.

The Trustees should be aware that we got almost 2300 signatures on our petition to the provincial government to specifically support the new school and it’s opening September 2008 and one of the first signature’s besides Farley Mowat’s was Trustee Lynn Scott who has made this motion, am I missing something?

I have already contacted MPP Lisa MacLeod and she will attend this meeting and wishes to present and I have contact counsellor’s Jan Harder and Steve Desroches with a similar request. I have also just notified the other school councils to scramble and get ready with presentations as well. We will send out massive notice to the community to encourage a huge turn out at this board meeting so you can anticipate a room full of irate Barrhaven resident who would rather be focusing on Christmas, Hanukah and Eid Mubarek plans than to be spending a long night at the board office.

Up to this point we have been polite and cooperative working in cooperation with the board. We have not taken a negative stance against communities in Kanata when their trustees organized them to coordinate presentations against the new school and we have been more then patient.

How many years did it take for us to get Adrienne Clarkson Elementary School, Berrigan Elementary School and Farley Mowat Public Schools in place? It took 30 years, 30 YEARS to get John McRae high school, why do we have to fight so hard for fundament rights guaranteed in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms? Yes the board provides Sir Winston Churchill as on option but bus drivers tell me that traveling times can reach over an hour each way. How does this add to the learning experience, you tell me?

There is a big movement right now being headed up by a man named Leonard Baak which has the purpose of eliminating the two existing school boards i.e. OCDSB and the Catholic board and merging them into one. Some of you will be more aware of this than others i.e. Cathy Curry and Rob Campbell who have officially been involved in the www.oneschoolsystem.org campaign (which in my mind is a clear conflict of interest to have two OCDSB trustees in place on a board with the agenda of dismantling the board they are part of, but that is separate issue).

I spoke with Leonard this week as he was seeking to gain my support to get involved with this campaign in Barrhaven. I told him that I was in support of this school board and have seen all kinds of troubles with amalgamation of our city for example. I believe that bringing two boards together would result in huge costs for feasibility studies of what policies to use what facilities to close etc. but I did commit to remaining open to the possibility and said that I would officially take no position on the one school board issue at this time.

I can assure you that unless this new school goes forward and opens fall of 2008 there will be nothing left to fight for. Mother Theresa is adding 30 more classrooms all set for 2008 and most of our parents will leave. This notion of an alternative holding area for the students in 2008, what is that exactly and where would that be? We presented to get Confederation high school re-opened many times and that was not approved because of renovation costs and because that resource brings in money for the board. Do we now suddenly; want to put millions of dollars into renovating that facility? W could then take maybe 37.5 million for a revised high school that would need new designs drawn up and then flush another 10 million down the drain to renovate Confederation OR we could stick these poor kids back in sub standard Merivale public school?

Have you visited our website yet i.e. www.ourschoolourcommunity.com and read any of the numerous press articles we have had or reviewed any of our old presentations on this issue? I will be updating the website until the wee hours of the morning no doubt in response to all of this and will now have to draft information letters to go to all of our parents.

Did I mention that I am extremely busy this week with studying for my Thursday night exam in addition to running the sound for our holiday special at the school Wednesday and getting organized for the two Christmas sing a longs I do at the school on Friday?

I am imploring this board to do the right thing and preferably get rid of this motion all together and give us a clear set date in the future when this issue will be presented at its next stage. People are extremely upset in this community and they want clear support for the new school.

Please do not tell me that you “support the school in principle just not the cost.” I did not see one of you at the meeting on Tuesday evening when the plans were revealed for the new school. I have to tell you there was nothing fancy about it. There are NOT 4 gyms, there are 2 double gyms and we confirmed that most schools have one triple gym and one single gym. The auditorium that seats about 500 will serve for assemblies, drama, band, concerts and community use and every single square foot of that building will be used properly to address the needs of our students in this community and will further address specific population demographics like retiring trades people for example.

I am not a politician, I am not a trustee and I am not employed by either school board. I am a father with children who has volunteered in this community for almost 20 years and I have been providing music circles in public education free of charge to address the lack of music at the elementary school level in response to a brilliant decision years ago to remove the music, art and gym teachers. What has happened to the public schools I grew up in? I believe in a time when the school was the heart of the community, when children were safe on the streets and where communities came together in the spirit of love and compassion and I will fight relentlessly for those values to be reinstated!

If you let this community down now this board is finished. Get out of secondary school and change your name to the Ottawa Carleton District Elementary School Board because that is all you will have left in Barrhaven. If this school gets voted down I will go to present at the catholic board and see what we could achieve there for our children instead as they seem to have a direction that encourages growth within communities where the kids actually live.

I want to say in closing that I am sending this letter to all of my contacts which includes the local media. I am extremely disappointed and tired right now. If you support this community then do the right thing once and for all; if you do not then don’t keep getting our hopes up because it just isn’t fair. I have grade 5 nad 6 kids ask me constantly about then new school and do you know what troubles them? They are wondering what will happen if the school does not open in 2008 and their lifelong friends all end up going into different schools and that breaks my heart. These kids are our future and perhaps we need to start showing them through action that we support and love them.

Sincerely, Scott Towaij