Simcoe County District School Board trustee Liz Grumett is all ears.
She says she’s ready to talk to any and all parents of children who may be affected by the September 2025 opening of a new elementary school at 739 Horseshoe Valley Rd. W., in Oro-Medonte Township.
Grumett knows some of them have concerns and she’s prepared to help them however she can, even if that means just listening to them.
“I’m always happy to listen,” the trustee for Oro-Medonte/Springwater said Tuesday night during a public information session on the new school, which attracted around 50 parents.
The session provided information on the board’s attendance area review, which is being conducted to determine the boundaries for the new school and to balance the enrolment at other elementary schools in the area.
“It’s entirely understandable that people are anxious and worried,” she said. “I think, at the end of the day, everyone is excited, but the unknown can be scary.”
Grummett said the top three concerns she’s heard from parents, so far, are about transportation, boundaries and high school.
First and foremost, she said, is parents want to know how long their children will be riding the bus. They also want clarity on how the boundaries were developed and, inevitably, some want to know why they weren’t included.
Lastly, the trustee said, parents want to know which high school their children will eventually go to, to ensure it makes sense now and in the future.
Parents develop an emotional attachment to the school their children attend, Grummett said. They buy into the school’s unique culture and sense of community. It’s not something most of them want to give up once it's been established.
“I understand the anxiety of folks who may have to leave,” she said. “People get attached.”
She pointed out that some of the fear parents have might be premature because nothing has been committed to at this point.
“I don’t want people to be afraid,” Grummett said. “This is a proposed boundary — it’s still a work in progress.”
The best way to deal with parents’ fears and concerns is through honest and forthright communication, said Corry Van Nispen, superintendent of business and facility services for the school board.
He said the board emailed an information letter last week to parents of children who will be affected by the new school opening.
In that letter was a link to a school board presentation that detailed the goals of the attendance area and program reviews, a graphic representation of what the new school will look like, the proposed attendance area, the transition of students to the new school and the impact the new school opening will have on the other schools in area, including East Oro, Forest Hill, Guthrie and W.R. Best Memorial public schools and two other schools currently holding students — Terry Fox and West Bayfield elementary schools, both located in Barrie.
The presentation noted that 160 pupils from Guthrie Public School and 330 from W.R. Best Memorial will attend the new school.
East Oro Public School students and students in the regular program at Midhurst's Forest Hill Public School are not affected by the proposed attendance area review.
There are 265 students from the Forest Hill's French Immersion program who will be relocated to the French Immersion program at W.R. Best Memorial.
Sixty students from the West Bayfield holding area will attend Forest Hill.
Students from the Terry Fox holding area are also not affected as a result of the review.
A school 'holding area' means that the school is temporarily accommodating students from a geographic area with new or imminent development where a future school is planned.
Van Nispen said one of the board’s priorities is to mitigate that stress.
“It starts with an event like this,” he said of the public information session. “We provide information and communicate with parents along the way as decisions are made. We’re looking for their input and listening to those voices."
According to Van Nispen, once that input is delivered, it will be up to the new school’s principal to bring it all together and start the process of building a culture that is unique and appropriate to that school.
“We’re bringing the various community groups together, but the principal will be the conductor who brings it all together and builds the school the community wants,” Van Nispen said.
When parents are done reviewing the presentation, they’re encouraged to provide their input via an online tool which will be open for input until Nov. 20.
Click here to access the presentation. The link to provide comments is embedded in the presentation on Page 4.
According to school board officials, if the attendance area review proposal doesn’t require any major adjustments, it will go to the board of trustees in January, where a final decision will be made.
