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It's going to cost the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board at least $15 million to fix Sherwood Secondary School and keep it open for students.
Alternatively, the price tag to upgrade the former Barton High School, just three kilometres away on the east Mountain, is $8 million.
So, why are trustees seriously considering spending an extra $7 million in taxpayer dollars to keep Sherwood open?
The answer has little to do with money.
The vocal Sherwood community has fought fiercely to keep the school open twice in the past 10 years. Meanwhile, some trustees argue the board's 2012 decision to keep Sherwood open ought to be honoured today.
Not everyone agrees, though.
Trustee Cam Galindo, who chairs the board's finance and facilities committee, opposed a March 10 motion to recommend a full renovation at Sherwood, saying his decision was influenced by cost." The motion, which goes to the board for final approval Monday, passed 4-1.
What impact would this decision have for those schools and communities if we decide to spend the additional $7 million for the current Sherwood site for the sake of sentimental value, for example," he said. We need to make decisions that are reflective of the needs of students across the board."
The Ministry of Education rejected eight times a proposal to rebuild Sherwood, recommending in 2016 that the board consider existing capacity at other schools in the surrounding area," according to a board report.
This has forced the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) to revisit that 2012 decision to keep to Sherwood open - and close several other schools, including Barton - against staff recommendations and amid pressure from the community.
At the time, Sherwood required an estimated $20 million in repairs. In the seven years prior to closing Barton, the board had invested close to $6 million in upgrades and improvements there.
If trustees again decide to keep Sherwood open, most of the money for repairs will come from a $28-million fund for renewals - a pool that also pays for capital improvements at 103 schools across the board.
HWDSB spokesperson Shawn McKillop said in an email projects such as windows, paving and roofs are all funded through the same source as the work required at Sherwood."
He also said the board is not delaying any urgent work at other schools in order to fund repairs at Sherwood.
But board chair Dawn Danko said the board has a specific envelope of money for this type of work and it is for the entire system."
Where we spend more money in one location, that means less is available for somewhere else," she said.
Still, trustees voted at the committee level to keep the school open, temporarily moving students to Barton while renovations are completed. Work on Sherwood is expected to take two years.
The alternatives, as presented by board staff, are to keep the school open and do only minor repairs - enough to maintain building safety," according to the report - or close the school permanently and move students to Barton.
Trustee Alex Johnstone, who pushed for the full renovation, said keeping Sherwood open honours the outcome of the 2012 accommodation review that closed Barton and Hill Park in return for building the new Nora Frances Henderson.
When asked about the rationale for that decision, former trustee Judith Bishop suggested the culture at the High Street institution played a role.
You can build a new school, you can change a physical building, but the (culture) is very difficult to replicate and takes an enormous amount of work to put in place," said Bishop, who advocated for Sherwood to stay open 10 years ago.
She also said the fact that the school - which hosts specialized programs, like French immersion, that draw students from other parts of Hamilton - is easily accessible from the lower city played a role.
When it comes to these types of decisions, governance expert Richard Leblanc acknowledged that trustees can be pulled in different directions. But their role is to act in the best interest of the organization, rather than a specific group or community.
Because they're elected, they feel an obligation to represent the interests of the people who elected them," Leblanc, a professor of law governance and ethics at York University, said not about this particular case, but about the duty of trustees in general.
Their role, once they come onto a board, is to fulfil a fiduciary duty, which is to make decisions that are in the best interests of the organization, having considered and deliberated upon and all relevant considerations, including financial."
Danko said the current board is weighing several factors - including cost, logistics and community opinions, as well as the previous decision to keep Sherwood open.
I think different trustees had different sentiments in terms of whether or not it's important to honour a commitment made by a board that was made up of very different people," she said.
At the end of the day, as a trustee, I have to make a decision that's best for the entire system, and so the community voice is a factor in that," she added, saying decisions to close or move schools are never easy.
They are extremely challenging because you're never going to make everyone happy."
Sherwood walks out, and a secondary concern
Dozens of students walked out of the east Mountain high school Friday bearing signs that read: Save our school" and Keep Sherwood on the Sherwood site" - a final effort to persuade ahead of Monday's vote.
Earlier this month, 200 hundred people showed up to a rally outside the school board office as part of a campaign to save Sherwood. Thousands of flyers and hundreds of lawn signs have been delivered to the community, and a petition with more than 2,000 names circulated.
A survey of HWDSB students, parents, teachers and community members found that 73 per cent of 2,003 respondents favoured retaining Sherwood.
The issue even made it to the provincial legislature when Hamilton Mountain MPP Monique Taylor introduced the Save Sherwood petition, which she said she wholeheartedly" supports.
I've seen the statistics about how many students each building can hold, I've seen the numbers about how many students can walk to each site," said Grade 10 student Sydney Black at an emotionally charged board meeting Tuesday. I am not a number. My friends are not numbers."
The overwhelming majority of speakers advocated for keeping Sherwood in its current building.
Sydney said this is an unnecessary change" at a stressful time.
When you vote, please remember me, remember my friends. You are making a decision that has an enormous impact on our daily lives and the rest of our high school careers," she said.
After missing Grade 8 graduation and a roller-coaster first year of high school, Sophia Baschiera is finally settling in at Sherwood.
Now, with a temporary move to Barton looming, students like her are facing yet another disruption. And for Sophia and her peers, the move would likely be permanent since many would graduate before renovations are complete.
A lot of people are confused and upset," said the Grade 10 student, adding that students feel in the dark. It's a really bad time."
Former Sherwood teacher Ken Durkacz said if renovations go ahead, the group would request that members sit on an advisory committee to oversee decisions at Sherwood.
That means that they would have open and honest communication with us and that we could share that information with the broader community," he said. This is an opportunity to recreate trust."
Durkacz said the community feels the decision has been rushed," and that students should only move to Barton until renovations are shovel-in-the-ground ready." He and other Sherwood supporters feel there is a chance a temporary move to Barton could become permanent.
We're living in a time of COVID ... if you don't have everything in place, you're going to run into shortages and delays," he said. Until every I' is dotted and every T' is crossed, no student should be moving from Sherwood to Barton."
Shanda Licop disagrees. In her view, moving to Barton - for good - is the only fiscally responsible" choice.
Licop, a community member who spoke at Tuesday's meeting, said those who support a move to the Palmer Road site have only the best of intentions for all students - not just those in the next couple of years."
Sherwood has always prided themselves on being an amazing place for students and staff," she added. Guess what? It's not the bricks and mortar that make that. It's the amazing staff who work hard each day for the students, it's the students who are engaged in their learning."
Kate McCullough is an education reporter at The Spectator. kmccullough@thespec.com