The Thames Valley District School Board has begun a lengthy and potentially costly process to rename a dozen more schools.
That’s in addition to one school that has already been renamed, and two more in which the renaming process has already begun.
The 12 schools up for possible name changes are those that are named after individuals a board committee suggests have ties to colonialism and racism, and no longer fit the board’s current standards of human rights and diversity.
“So last night the trustees passed a motion to seek community input about whether to rename 12 schools that were identified from the school renaming committee in a report that came to the board,” said board superintendent Lynne Griffith-Jones.
According to school board administration, a public consultation process on whether to rename the 12 schools will cost $47,346.50.
Griffith-Jones said online opportunities and in-person engagements will begin in the fall of 2023 and run until spring of 2025.
“We could hear a variety of things. We could hear communities saying that they are happy with the names and they like it the way it is. Or we could hear our communities indicate that they’d like us to follow through with the renaming process,” she said.
Earlier this year, Ryerson was renamed Old North Public School. Just last month the board voted to get the ball rolling on renaming Sir John A. MacDonald and FD Roosevelt public schools.
Old North Parent Dan Cameron believes considering new names is a worthy exercise. “I think our Indigenous neighbours tell us that they’ve been affected by this,” said Cameron. “So it’s important that we listen to our different communities of Canada because people are hurt by names we have then we need to reconsider.”
The costs involved in the Ryerson renaming totalled $40,000.
The board said renaming each of the other 14 schools would be about the same, should name changes go ahead.
If all the names were changed, the total cost, including public consultation, is estimated at $647,346.50, based on current figures.
The 12 schools involved in the community input process include:
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