NJN Network

Shyster superintendant and premier, have we got a deal for Souris

New school not in plans, MacDonald and Ghiz playing games

By Stephen Pate, NJN Network, Charlottetown, PEI, February 13, 2009, with story from the Guardian

The Souris parents may think they are getting a new school but the official report published in December 2008 says that two Souris schools will be renovated if the parents agree to close Fortune, Eastern Kings and Rollo Bay schools. It’s hard to trust Eastern School District Superintendent Sandy MacDonald when he continues to play mind games, tricks, pay bribes and generally confuse the situation with rural school closures. The Guardian is obviously trying to tilt the game towards Ghiz’s plan when they report half the facts like the story today.

In the case of Teri Hall, chair of the Parents for Learning committee, Terri and her group were paid $15,000 last year to write a report supporting one new school versus 5 existing schools. The report is even more insidious than the two $90,000 reports the Premier hired Myrtle Jenkins Smith to prepare, one on enrollment and the other on disability reform. Here Ghiz ensured local support by bribing a few key players into compliance with the school closure plan. The official school closure plan was written by Chris LeClair in the first months of the new Ghiz government and given to Jenkins Smith and Sandy MacDonald to push through, no matter what. LeClair is nothing more than a not-for-profit consultant in a cheap suit, masquerading as an expert in government.

See – Sneaky and dishonest acts by Sandy MacDonald in school closure

Faced with a) the $15,000 and b) the promise of a new shiny “green” school, some of the parents came on side with the closure plan. Cheap money for Parents for Learning. They could have held out for $90K like Jenkins-Smith. Next time they sign a contract, hire me as the agent and for 20% I’ll double their take. How anyone can convince us that tearing down 5 buildings and using all new materials benefits the environment is beyond comprehension? Our propensity for waste knows no boundaries.

The promises of a green school are like the thin air promises of Ghiz to put seniors in the DSP. Nothing. Here’s what the final report said, dated December 30,2008,

1. The Eastern Kings Consolidated School be permanently closed. All grade 1-7 students will
be enrolled in Souris Consolidated School and all grade 8 students enrolled in Souris High
School.
2. The Fortune Consolidated School be permanently closed. All students will be enrolled in
Souris Consolidated School.
3. The Rollo Bay Consolidated School be permanently closed. All grade 5-7 students will be
enrolled in Souris Consolidated School and all grade 8 students enrolled in Souris High
School.
4. The Souris Consolidated School be rezoned to a grade 1-7 configuration. A detailed
rezoning report will be made public by December 2009 with implementation to take place
September 2010. All grade 8 students attending Souris Consolidated for September 2009
will be given the option of attending Souris High School.

Does anyone see new green school? That’s right, lip service is what Parents for Learning got. The report moves the children to existing Souris schools.

Lies, cheating and deception. The Sandy MacDonald Treatment I call it. The old parking lot shuffle.

“Yes Mrs. Brown, we fixed all your complaints. Your car is on the other side of the lot. Sorry it’s so far away.” The distance thing is to a) tire you out and b) convince you something happened when it didn’t.

Souris parents are out in the cold. Isolated from the rest of the district, they will struggle with their dream. They can be expected to defend it vigorously in the press and public. It was their recommendation. The Premier might even hold out an olive branch – “maybe some year but not this year…it’s a recession you know.”

In the meantime, the other schools are likely to stay open based on parent resistence. The Souris schools will have been snookered by a sneaky superintendent and a sneakier Premier. The cynicism in the Premier’s office is only exceeded by their arrogance.

Green it’s not

In Europe and other areas where civilization has existed for millennia, buildings are not torn down. They are renovated. It saves money, materials and the environment. Even brand new buildings follow this model. If you rent a newer house or apartment in Europe, you bring your own cupboards, flooring including hardwood. You rent a shell. People don’t throw good materials in land fill for many good reasons. If we want to be green, we need to start saving buildings from frivolous destruction.