Students fight to keep Central school open
Former Central Collegiate student Emily Benson pleads her case to the ARC committee to keep the second school open after June of this year.
By Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express
The halls of Central Collegiate were empty on the night of Oct. 22, an omen of what could be if the school board decides to shutter the school for good.
However, inside the school’s gymnasium, cheers rang out as the students fought to keep their school free of the wrecking ball’s path.
“Do we look like sardines to you?” one student asked to a resounding chorus of cheers.
The student was speaking of one option being considered by the Accommodation Review Committee (ARC) that would see Central closed and the students sent to Eastdale CVI. However, according to numbers from the Durham District School Board, Eastdale is already operating over its capacity, and would require an addition to the building to accommodate the new students.
This scenario appeared to be the most unpopular with the student population in attendance which, along with parents and staff, saw more than 100 bodies inside the school’s gym.
“It only makes sense to add more students from those overpopulated schools into here,” said student Emily Benson, a previous student of Central who now attends Maxwell Heights.
Others labelled Eastdale as already “over run” with students.
Despite the strong numbers in attendance, Central’s student population has been steadily declining in recent years and shows little improvement by 2023, which is the main reason the secondary school is under the hammer.
However, the second option being considered by the ARC (the remaining two were trimmed down from five possible options at the ARC’s last public meeting in September) would see Central remain open with portions of other feeder schools, including Clara Hughes PS, David Bouchard and Waverly, relocated to Central to boost student numbers.
Last week’s meeting was the fourth and final in a series of public meetings held by the ARC since this summer, which allowed the public to voice their opinions on the matter.
A final decision is slated to be made at a special DDSB meeting on Feb. 1.
If the board decides to close Central, the doors would be closed for good at the end of the current school year in June.
For young student Allen Strong, who recently moved to Oshawa and is able to walk both of his young sisters to school on his way to Central, he hopes that doesn’t happen.
“I love this school,” he said, “because the teachers are so caring here. Please don’t close this school.”