Save the nationally historic education institution of Kingston Collegiate Vocational Institute
Save the nationally historic education institution of Kingston Collegiate Vocational Institute
The Issue
Kingston Collegiate & Vocational Institute, founded in 1792, is under threat of closure.
January 29, 2014
Honourable Premier Kathleen Wynne
Att:
Minister Liz Sandals of the Ministry of Education
Min. Charles Sousa Minister of Finance
Min. Tony Clement, President of Treasury Board
Min. John Baird, Minister External Affairs
MPP John Gerretsen
Laurie French, Chair Limestone School Board
Join the 2,000+ Kingston residents petitioning their government to save historic Kingston Collegiate & Vocational Institute from the Toronto wrecking ball!
The decision by forces outside Kingston to close this tremendously successful high school has shaken the Kingston community. Founded in 1792, KCVI is Ontario’s oldest public high school and is the leading academic high school in southeastern Ontario. Former students include Sir John A. Macdonald, the first premier of Ontario, Oliver Mowat, a Nobel Laureate, members of the Tragically Hip, Don Cherry, Simon Whitfield, Robertson Davies, and on and on. “KCVI is not only of historic importance, but also a vibrant school with a strong academic record” appealed Carolyn Quinn of Heritage Canada. The high school continues to attract students from throughout the Kingston area and is at full capacity.
As anyone following the issue knows, the decision itself was anything but unanimous: 5-4, with Kingston trustees voting 3-1 to keep KCVI open. The boarder board ignoring the overwhelming support and economics of the Kingston community for keeping schools open. The combination of amalgamation and voodoo economics threatens the very heart of Kingston - our schools! The decisions for Kingston's schools are now being made by people outside the city. When the school board made its fateful decision, hundreds of angry families were in attendance and police and private security guards were hired to keep order. Despite three of the four Kingston trustees voting to keep KCVI open, the board voted to close it while children and parents were crying in the audience.
“The effect of school board amalgamation in the 1990s directly took the stewardship of KCVI out of the hands of Kingston citizens, creating shared oversight of schools across traditional municipal boundaries. Amalgamation requires urban schools to subsidize rural schools and wrenches control from the individuals elected to represent Kingston school areas.” Lindsay Davidson Globe & Mail June 28th, 2013.
“The Ministry of Education has dragged us into this crisis with its system of perverse incentives whereby existing schools are underfunded but money is offered for building new ones,” commented Dr. Art Cockfield, whose children attend KCVI.
Rob Baker, member of The Tragically Hip and KCVI 1981 graduate added “KCVI’s virtues are well known to us. When we went to KCVI we found a school with a mix of kids and a commitment to academic excellence that was enhanced by its venerable history. Today KCVI is the most academically successful high school in the Limestone Board, and it remains a school of significant social diversity, with average family income at 6th lowest of the 9 Kingston high schools.” Hundreds of other former students were signatories to a full-page letter to the editor published in the Kingston Whig-Standard last March also included former MP and Speaker of the House of Commons Peter Milliken, former mayors Harvey Rosen and Ken Keyes, all members of The Tragically Hip, musicians David Usher and Hugh Dillon, actor Chilina Kennedy, 4-time Olympian Simon Whitfield and leading business people such as Michael Robinson of the former S & R. People from all over the world and from all walks of life have endorsed the letter. Cooks, carpenters, secretaries, stay-at-home moms, police officers, CEOs, diplomats, entrepreneurs and lawyers were among the names. The letter appeared on a full page of the local Whig Standard supported by downtown businesses who arranged to pay for its publication.
Closing KCVI will undermine the tax base itself. In the area around a closing school, home prices typically decline between 9 to 11 percent. “In real estate terms, there is a clear and unimpeachable impact,” said David Perry, a professor of urban planning at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “It’s sort of like a city tearing down its bridges and roads.”
“The loss of KCVI would be another major blow and we are left to wonder at what point the balance might shift completely and leave a deserted downtown. Most directly, the loss would affect the downtown residents and employees whose children go to school at KCVI. If this city wants families to live downtown, there must be schools. Closing KCVI would remove 1000 students from the downtown streets, as well as the parents, teachers and staff that go with them. We believe the loss of downtown spending would be significant.” says Ed Smith of the Downtown Business Improvement Association.
The pattern of closing urban schools does direct harm to working families with lower incomes. KCVI draws students from all over the Kingston region, not only for its reputation of academic excellence, but also its convenience for working people. The KCVI student body has always been a full reflection of ALL of Kingston. It represents what a great public institution should – exceptional education and matriculation rates for every social, economic, and ethnic background in the city. Families seek out KCVI today because it represents the first step toward opportunity for their children.
Quality education is at the core of all modern economically successful cities, and KCVI is the only high school located in the downtown core of our city. It takes decades, if not centuries, to build public trust and a reputation. Think of the names that Queens, Harvard, Stanford, and McGill have built over generations. In one fell swoop, we would be destroying the oldest publicly-funded high school in Ontario and a world-class institution that has lifted thousands of families out of poverty for generations.
The Kingston community desperately urges our governments not to sit passively by and watch the wrecking ball destroy our history and key to the sustained economic success of our city. For 222 years, this school was nurtured and treasured by the community. Now, forces outside of Kingston are using voodoo economics to close a full, academically successful, and nationally historic education institution.
Please join us in protecting one of our community’s most valuable resources. KCVI relies on you to make our voices heard and urging the Ontario Ministry of Education to refuse the $30M for this misguided effort to build an unneeded and unwanted school.
Sincerely,
Friends of Kingston Collegiate Vocational Institute
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> 0 0 1 1175 6704 Founders Circle 55 15 7864 14.0 </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <!--EndFragment-->
The Issue
Kingston Collegiate & Vocational Institute, founded in 1792, is under threat of closure.
January 29, 2014
Honourable Premier Kathleen Wynne
Att:
Minister Liz Sandals of the Ministry of Education
Min. Charles Sousa Minister of Finance
Min. Tony Clement, President of Treasury Board
Min. John Baird, Minister External Affairs
MPP John Gerretsen
Laurie French, Chair Limestone School Board
Join the 2,000+ Kingston residents petitioning their government to save historic Kingston Collegiate & Vocational Institute from the Toronto wrecking ball!
The decision by forces outside Kingston to close this tremendously successful high school has shaken the Kingston community. Founded in 1792, KCVI is Ontario’s oldest public high school and is the leading academic high school in southeastern Ontario. Former students include Sir John A. Macdonald, the first premier of Ontario, Oliver Mowat, a Nobel Laureate, members of the Tragically Hip, Don Cherry, Simon Whitfield, Robertson Davies, and on and on. “KCVI is not only of historic importance, but also a vibrant school with a strong academic record” appealed Carolyn Quinn of Heritage Canada. The high school continues to attract students from throughout the Kingston area and is at full capacity.
As anyone following the issue knows, the decision itself was anything but unanimous: 5-4, with Kingston trustees voting 3-1 to keep KCVI open. The boarder board ignoring the overwhelming support and economics of the Kingston community for keeping schools open. The combination of amalgamation and voodoo economics threatens the very heart of Kingston - our schools! The decisions for Kingston's schools are now being made by people outside the city. When the school board made its fateful decision, hundreds of angry families were in attendance and police and private security guards were hired to keep order. Despite three of the four Kingston trustees voting to keep KCVI open, the board voted to close it while children and parents were crying in the audience.
“The effect of school board amalgamation in the 1990s directly took the stewardship of KCVI out of the hands of Kingston citizens, creating shared oversight of schools across traditional municipal boundaries. Amalgamation requires urban schools to subsidize rural schools and wrenches control from the individuals elected to represent Kingston school areas.” Lindsay Davidson Globe & Mail June 28th, 2013.
“The Ministry of Education has dragged us into this crisis with its system of perverse incentives whereby existing schools are underfunded but money is offered for building new ones,” commented Dr. Art Cockfield, whose children attend KCVI.
Rob Baker, member of The Tragically Hip and KCVI 1981 graduate added “KCVI’s virtues are well known to us. When we went to KCVI we found a school with a mix of kids and a commitment to academic excellence that was enhanced by its venerable history. Today KCVI is the most academically successful high school in the Limestone Board, and it remains a school of significant social diversity, with average family income at 6th lowest of the 9 Kingston high schools.” Hundreds of other former students were signatories to a full-page letter to the editor published in the Kingston Whig-Standard last March also included former MP and Speaker of the House of Commons Peter Milliken, former mayors Harvey Rosen and Ken Keyes, all members of The Tragically Hip, musicians David Usher and Hugh Dillon, actor Chilina Kennedy, 4-time Olympian Simon Whitfield and leading business people such as Michael Robinson of the former S & R. People from all over the world and from all walks of life have endorsed the letter. Cooks, carpenters, secretaries, stay-at-home moms, police officers, CEOs, diplomats, entrepreneurs and lawyers were among the names. The letter appeared on a full page of the local Whig Standard supported by downtown businesses who arranged to pay for its publication.
Closing KCVI will undermine the tax base itself. In the area around a closing school, home prices typically decline between 9 to 11 percent. “In real estate terms, there is a clear and unimpeachable impact,” said David Perry, a professor of urban planning at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “It’s sort of like a city tearing down its bridges and roads.”
“The loss of KCVI would be another major blow and we are left to wonder at what point the balance might shift completely and leave a deserted downtown. Most directly, the loss would affect the downtown residents and employees whose children go to school at KCVI. If this city wants families to live downtown, there must be schools. Closing KCVI would remove 1000 students from the downtown streets, as well as the parents, teachers and staff that go with them. We believe the loss of downtown spending would be significant.” says Ed Smith of the Downtown Business Improvement Association.
The pattern of closing urban schools does direct harm to working families with lower incomes. KCVI draws students from all over the Kingston region, not only for its reputation of academic excellence, but also its convenience for working people. The KCVI student body has always been a full reflection of ALL of Kingston. It represents what a great public institution should – exceptional education and matriculation rates for every social, economic, and ethnic background in the city. Families seek out KCVI today because it represents the first step toward opportunity for their children.
Quality education is at the core of all modern economically successful cities, and KCVI is the only high school located in the downtown core of our city. It takes decades, if not centuries, to build public trust and a reputation. Think of the names that Queens, Harvard, Stanford, and McGill have built over generations. In one fell swoop, we would be destroying the oldest publicly-funded high school in Ontario and a world-class institution that has lifted thousands of families out of poverty for generations.
The Kingston community desperately urges our governments not to sit passively by and watch the wrecking ball destroy our history and key to the sustained economic success of our city. For 222 years, this school was nurtured and treasured by the community. Now, forces outside of Kingston are using voodoo economics to close a full, academically successful, and nationally historic education institution.
Please join us in protecting one of our community’s most valuable resources. KCVI relies on you to make our voices heard and urging the Ontario Ministry of Education to refuse the $30M for this misguided effort to build an unneeded and unwanted school.
Sincerely,
Friends of Kingston Collegiate Vocational Institute
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> 0 0 1 1175 6704 Founders Circle 55 15 7864 14.0 </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <!--EndFragment-->
Petition Closed
Share this petition
The Decision Makers
Petition Updates
Share this petition
Petition created on January 29, 2014