Hew High School Lobby Group Update

 November 14, 2008

Hello to all interested families.  Please read below about a few updates and developments that have evolved over the last few months regarding the need for a high school in Southwest Winnipeg.

1.    Pembina Trail’s School Division Capital Plan

It is unfortunate that Pembina Trails School Division chose to lower the priority of a new high school in its latest Capital Plan.  Our group feels that this decision is out of touch with the residents of Linden Woods, Whyte Ridge and Linden Ridge.  We encourage you to contact your trustees and senior administration at PTSD to register your concerns for a new high school.  Senior administrators from PTSD will be meeting with representatives of the Public Schools Finance Board this fall. At this time, a new high school is not even being considered in the capital plan until 2010.  Members of the Public Schools Finance Board have stated that they will not consider building a new high school for the division until there are enough students in Waverley West. In the meantime, the board has engaged in discussions with the Public Schools Finance Board regarding the addition of a special needs area at Shaftsbury High School.  Architectural plans and a schematic design are being developed for this addition, and will be forwarded to the Public Schools Finance Board.

2.    Support from Rod Bruinooge and John Loewen

Rod Bruinooge and John Loewen  both shared their  support for    a   high school for the Linden Woods, Whyte Ridge, and Linden Ridge  areas during the Federal Campaign. Rod Bruinooge stated this support in his regular Parliamentary Report, and John Loewen expressed his support in an election pamphlet early in the campaign. 

3.  Responses from the Federal Candidates

In order to monopolize on the Federal Election campaign, members of the New High School Lobby Group  sent letters to each of the candidates in Winnipeg South to share our concerns about the need for a high school in the area.  Below are responses from four of the candidates:

A.  Response from John Loewen

To: The New High School Lobby Group

On behalf of the community and all prospective high school students in the area, I want to thank you for your continued efforts to convince the province to build a high school in the south west. There is no doubt that a new high school is needed and would be a great benefit.  I was pleased to assist your group when I served as the MLA for Fort Whyte. I have continued to follow this issue and remain fully supportive of your efforts.
 
For all of the reasons outlined in your letter, I would make the construction of a new high school one of  my top priorities. The construction of the high school is much more than a provincial planning issue.
 
As your federal representative I would take a tough approach with the provincial government in any negotiations between the two levels of government. Discussions between the two levels of government are a regular occurrence and these discussions need to stress the  importance of a new high school to the area.
 
I would suggest a number of approaches that should start immediately after the October 14th election.

My first suggestion would be to expand the grass roots campaign currently underway to include parents and students in Fort Garry and Charleswood. I believe the provincial government will be more inclined to move the construction effort forward if they hear about the problems of overcrowding in their local high schools from parents in other areas, particularly Ft. Garry and Ft. Richmond.

This approach would be similar to the campaign I spearheaded to get the Kenaston underpass constructed in spite of the Premier's view at the time that it was not needed.  Premier Doer's view changed dramatically when he started to get calls from residents from all over south Winnipeg. These calls began after our billboard and signs went up urging voters to call his office if they were stuck waiting for a train.

 I would also be prepared to help fund this grassroots campaign from the member's allowance. I believe these funds are better used to support taxpayer initiatives than simply as a re-election fund.
 
The current  member has suggested in his literature that he has secured federal funds for an underpass at Waverly. I believe the construction of a new high school is a much higher priority and is of greater benefit for the community. If in fact these funds are secured, I would work to have them targeted for a new high school as opposed to a proposed underpass that has not even had a cost/benefit analysis performed.
 
The first step would be to meet with your group again to discuss the various approaches that could be taken and to set up an action plan. I would be pleased to support any plan that you agreed to.

I made mention of the need for a new high school in my campaign literature. You can find a copy of the brochure at  www.johnloewen.ca
 
Once again congratulations on your efforts to date. I look forward to working closely with you to get the new high school constructed in the immediate future.
 
Sincerely
 
John Loewen
 
Liberal Candidate
Winnipeg South
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B.  Response from Rod Bruinooge

Dear Members of the New High School Lobby Group,

Thank you for your letter. It is clear that a new high school is needed now, and the added pressures of continued population growth mean this is a project the province cannot continue to ignore.

It is only a matter of years before I am drawing on this resource for my own family. My support for your group is based not only on my role as the local MP, but as a young parent. I have a second child on the way and I empathize with those parents for who this is a more pressing need.

I have long been active in the civic community and I am always pleased to see citizens rise up and advocate for investment, especially the kind of investment that benefits the community as a whole. This is why my staff and I have worked with Sandie Matheson and your team to push for a new high school in South Winnipeg. My office has sent literature out to the entire community of Winnipeg South addressing this very important issue. I also met with Hugh McFadyen and group members to develop a strategy to see the Premier recognize the need for a hew school. Following that I contacted school board officials to emphasize the importance of keeping a new school a top priority.

Certainly such support will continue if I am re-elected to represent Winnipeg South. Simply stated, this has to get done; a new high school must be built in the south end, and I plan to continue to be a part of the lobby efforts to make that happen.  I look forward to meeting with representatives of your group again after the election to discuss what further steps I can take to assist you.

Perhaps our next step should be to attract more media attention to your efforts. A press conference is one way we could remind Premier Doer of the needs of taxpaying parents. I would be happy to help facilitate and to participate in such an effort. Let’s remind the Premier that Canada’s government increased transfer payments to Manitoba by nearly 10 per cent. This is new money that was not provided in previous years, and this translates into more than $3 Billion added dollars to invest in Manitoba. We need some of that new money here in Winnipeg South to improve the quality of life for our students are their families.

If re-elected as Member of Parliament, I will continue support your efforts to request that the Premier reconsider his decision not to fund the new high school. As a parent, and as a local representative, I will work with you to help the Province recognize the need for this investment and choose to spend the transfer payments provided by Canada’s government as well as revenue generated by the community in a way that best serves the tax payers and their children.

Thank you very much again for the opportunity to work with you. I look forward to seeing progress on this issue in the near future.

Sincerely,

Rod Bruinooge

C.      Response from Heidi Loewen-Steffano

My name is Heidi Loewen-Steffano, Christian Heritage Party candidate for Winnipeg South. Monique Klenke asked me to respond to her letter to you.
The squandering of any and all resources is always a concern to me, ie. fuel, empty classroom space, empty servicable buildings. We must balance that with outstanding need. The solution to your problem will in the end benefit by being a balanced one. Some degree of shuttling will be necessary in order not to waste classroom space, in addition to the building of additional school houses. My primary concern is the care of our teachers and the effect it has on the students. No teacher's class size should be too big, because this in turn is not in the classroom's best interests nor the teacher's. Neither should a classroom be too small, for this puts the teacher's necessity in question. You mentioned shuttling as being a bad thing, however I do have to point out that most every child that attends a private school is shuttled to some degree and they survive. Also, this shuttling is for the most part at the parent's expense, not to mention the school fee itself. Could you imagine the burden to the public system if those students were also registered?
 
So, I would like to know of the names of the schools in particular that are of the greatest concern to you, how their classroom sizes compare to those in the immediate three school divisions surrounding them, and specifically what the immediate needs of the schools in question are, and why those needs are unique to your area as opposed to other school divisions. Is this a regional problem, or a city-wide problem? Should I be addressing it, or should city council be addressing it? If I'm going to take this up as a cause, I would like specific details with which to use as ammunition to petition on behalf of you.
 
Sincerely,
Heidi Loewen-Steffano

D.  Response from Sean Robert

Thank you for your message.  As you are well aware, the Federal government does not have a direct stake in the education system prior to university, as it is a provincial responsibility.  I will, however, forward your message on to Marilyn Brick, the MLA for St. Norbert who, with the new boundary changes proposed by Elections Manitoba, is responsible for the area of Waverly West.  She will be able to better assist you in dealing with this very important issue.

Thank you again for your message.

Sean Robert

New Democrat Candidate, Winnipeg South

The New High School Lobby Group thanks all candidates who took the time to respond to our letters and to address this important issue.

4.  Letters to Provincial Cabinet Ministers

During the Federal Election, the Lobby Group sent letters to each of the Provincial Cabinet Ministers reminding them of the need for a high school for Linden woods Whyte Ridge and Linden Ridge.  We also shared with them, the support that we have received from the candidates from Winnipeg South during the federal campaign.  Most of the responses that we received from the cabinet ministers, deferred to Minister Bjornson, the Minister for Education, Citizenship and Youth.  Below is Minister’s Bjornson’s response:

Answer from Minister Bjornson in PDF Format

Thank you for reading this update!