Fairmont Public School was one of the schools proposed by the Thames Valley District School Board to close in 2017.
The Thames Valley District School Board came out with a proposal that will affect two London schools. Fairmont Public School, along with Tweedsmuir Public School, are at risk of being closed down in the following year due to small numbers of students attending each school.
Should Fairmont close down if the proposal goes through, Fairmont students and others in the neighbourhood will attend Tweedsmuir and/or a newly built school set for Summerside. An all-french immersion school is also set to be built in the proposal.
More than a dozen schools are being affected by the proposal, two being in London, the rest in surrounding areas.
London schools affected by proposed boundary change or closing:
- Fairmont
- Tweedsmuir
Elgin and Middlesex county schools affected by proposed boundary change or closing:
- * Davenport, McGregor and Summers’ Corners
- (Aylmer and rural Aylmer)
- * Mitchell Hepburn
- (St. Thomas)
- * New Sarum
- * Northdale Central and River Heights (Dorchester)
- * Port Stanley
- * South Dorchester
- (rural Belmont)
- * Sparta
- * Springfield
- * Westminster Central
- (rural south London)
The “pupil accommodation reviews” are subjected to all of the targeted schools, which means they are under review for closure in a decision that is set to be made in May of 2017. A vote will take place in November, followed by a public participation meeting.
Residents in the area say Fairmont is a school with rich history and that they want to see younger generations go through the same schooling they once did.
“I went to Fairmont, and my sister goes there now,” says a resident in the Fairmont Public School area. “I just feel bad for her, if the proposal goes through, she’s going to be so much farther, she’ll have to take another bus, and adapt to a new location. I’m also worried about the staff and what that’s going to mean for them and their jobs.”
