“In our community and school community, there is a general consensus that we would like the Board to pursue repairs to keep Connaught School open until at least June 2015, or longer,” Cathedral Area parent Kate Smart told the board of education on March 25.

“This position is supported by the Cathedral Area Community Association, by Save our Connaught, by several members of the Cathedral Village Business Association, by every single person I’ve spoken to in my neighbourhood, and by the vast majority of the Connaught School community who attended the Feb. 25 meeting in the Connaught Gym.

Despite this consensus, the board steamrolled ahead with its plan to close the school in June, citing problems with its insurer.  Trustee Carla Beck, whose children attend Connaught, put forward a motion to delay a closure decision until there was opportunity for the board to meet with parents and the insurer, but the majority board members voted her down. Board members who voted against Beck included Aleana Young, Katherine Gagne, Dale West, Jane Ekong and Katherine Gagne. Trustee Kathleen O’Reilly supported Beck’s motion, as did community members who made presentations.

Community presentations are posted on this website under ”Important Docs.” Another related new post on that page is the paper ‘Participation That Counts: Integrating Community Input into Decision-making.’ The paper outlines the problem of hosting public meetings with little or no understanding of how to integrate community input into developing options and making decisions.

There will be a meeting this Sunday, March 30 at 1 p.m. at the Cathedral Neighbourhood Centre.