A decision to close Barrie’s oldest high school, Barrie Central Collegiate Institute, is imminent, according to a letter sent to parents on Thursday.

The letter, signed by Principal Greg Brucker, notes that with only five days remaining until a deadline, no partnerships have been found to rebuild the aging downtown school.

Thursday was an emotional day for Sydney Clark and hundreds of other alumni, students and staff as word spread of the imminent closure of the school.

“It’s been such a part of Barrie for so long,” says Clark. “It’s always had a great reputation. The music program, even scholastically, it’s always had a good reputation.”

The search for a partnership was launched by the Simcoe County District School Board more than three years ago, as the Board examined the futures of various high schools in the region, because of aging buildings and declining enrolment.

With the September 30th deadline just days away, the school sent a letter home with students this week saying the school would close in June of 2016.

“At times it’s been a frustrating process for everyone involved but that’s what happens in these conversations and that needs to happen. But I think everyone understands that we’ve exhausted all avenues and just unable to get there,” says Brian Jeffs with the Simcoe County District School Board.

“It was definitely an emotional time for them, my staff have put a lot of effort into the school over the years and the students so they definitely had mixed emotion reaction this morning,” says Brucker.

The board had been in talks with one particular business partner for months but the talks ended without an agreement. The board will only say the deal would have meant it would have to come with a major investment but Barrie’s mayor wants to know more.

“The community is not going to accept that, the community deserves to know what was on the table, what was proposed and ultimately why this decision was made,” says Barrie Mayor Jeff Lehman.

After 171 years in the community, seeing these halls empty for good is not what people wanted to hear.

“Really sad to see it go, really proud to be from Central, to come from Central. I’m fourth generation in my family to go to this school so it’s kind of a big deal to me personally and I’d rather not see it go,” says student Wilson Black

Letter posted on Barrie Central's website:

Dear Barrie Central Students and Families,

As you may be aware, the Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB) has been looking for partners to help rebuild our school since May 2011. The deadline to find a financially viable partnership is Sept. 30, 2014. At last night’s Board Meeting, Trustees passed a motion confirming that the requirements of the Request for Proposal, Barrie Central Partnership have not been fulfilled.

If Sept. 30 passes without a partnership, staff will begin work on the remainder of the motions passed by the Board of Trustees following the 2011 Pupil Accommodation Review that lead to the pursuit of partnerships. The review included all high schools in Barrie and was initiated to address declining enrolment and facility condition at our school. The motions include:

  • the closure of Barrie Central as of June 30, 2016
  • preparation of a capital priorities business case to the Ministry of Education to accommodate students at nearby high schools
  • an Attendance Area Review to determine how secondary school attendance areas should be changed within the City of Barrie to balance enrolment at the schools. As with all Attendance Area Reviews, our students and families receive information about public meetings that take place.

The background information related to this work is available on the board’s website at www.scdsb.on.ca under ‘Board’, ‘Capital Planning’ and ‘Barrie Central’. The page includes details of the accommodation review process and the partnership process. It will be updated after September 30 with any additional details that become available.

I will share updates as more information becomes available. Whatever the result of this process, I know we can work together to make this transition as smooth and positive as possible.

Sincerely,
Greg Brucker
Principal