At Queen’s Park on Feb. 19, Garfield Dunlop, Progressive Conservative MPP for Simcoe North asserted that the “Liberal Provincial government has watched enrolment decline for the last decade, and instead of having a proper plan to make sure schools flourish as community hubs, they will now force boards to close schools and try to balance the Liberal budget on the backs of students.”
Community Hubs are tricky business as is evidenced by this thoughtful series of essays about The School as Community Hub, edited by David Clandfield and George Martell. Creating Community Hubs requires both an overarching plan and an ability for many Ministries to work effectively together and with school boards and municipal governments. A tall order… but one worthy of pursuit by our Provincial government.