School board approves Kars/Rideau Valley merge, New school to operate under one administration in Sept. 2012

Posted Feb 2, 2012 By Emma Jackson

EMC News - Students at Kars Public School and Rideau Valley Middle School will officially become a united student body after the Ottawa Carleton District School Board approved a recommendation to merge the two schools into one organization beginning September 2012.

The two schools have shared the same building since January 2011, and the crumbling three-storey Kars Public School building was torn down in March 2011. An addition was built on the middle school on Dorack Drive to accommodate the approximately 330 elementary students enrolled at Kars.

Beginning in September 2012, the newly merged school will have one principal, one office administration and one name - although the name has yet to be decided.

"We could amalgamate the two names, choose either one or come up with a totally different name," explained Rideau-Goulbourn school board trustee Lynn Scott, who sits on the business committee that recommended the merge. "The school administrators will be working with the school community. We have a policy around naming, so if there is a desire to find a new name for the school, that will come forward through that process."

Currently students from junior kindergarten to Grade 8 all attend school in the same building, but there are two sets of office staff, two principals and two sets of funding.

The board's approval of the merge on Tuesday, Jan. 24 didn't faze either set of office staff, who all share the same space. One administrative assistant said she thought it was already "a done deal."

Kars Public School principal Denise Gagnon-Lebrun, who will leave the school in June, said staff from both schools have been anticipating the merge for some time.

In fact, staffing changes had already been carried out before the board approved the merge. Gagnon-Lebrun was vice-principal of Rideau Valley until December, when she was appointed principal of Kars to allow a new Rideau Valley vice-principal, Denise St. Jules to come in for the transition. Current Rideau Valley principal Roger Lee left on Friday, Jan. 27 and a new principal, Rick Haggar, took over the following Monday.

"It was important for them to be here for the process," said Gagnon-Lebrun.

Gagnon-Lebrun said the Kars students have been enjoying the benefits of studying in a brand new building.

"The students are enjoying the new yard, new play structure, new building. But academically there shouldn't be a big change for them," she said.

The old Kars Public School was a three-storey building deemed too costly to repair. Instead, the provincial government provided about $5 million from the Prohibitive-to-Repair capital grant to build the addition onto the middle school next door. Scott said this new addition has better kindergarten space in preparation for full-day kindergarten next year, as well as access to a larger gym.

It's more energy efficient, and it is accessible for people with special needs.

Gagnon-Lebrun said having all grades in one building will help the middle school students practice their leadership skills while helping the younger kids with computer problems, reading and other activities - partnerships that are all in the planning stages right now.

The merge will have very little financial impact on the school board, a report to the business committee said. Scott added that there will likely be no job losses even though one entire office and one principal will be eliminated, because attrition in other schools will absorb the losses.