Parents Protest Cuts at St. Sofia School

By Olena Wawryshyn

Parents of students who attend St. Sofia Elementary School in Mississauga, Ontario on November 9 staged a protest to express their concern over the provincial government’s decision to cut funding for transportation starting September 2007. 

The parents fear that the cuts could eventually lead to the closure of St. Sofia School and possibly of other Byzantine Rite schools in the Greater Toronto Area.

On the morning of the protest, parents drove their children en masse to St. Sofia in cars to demonstrate that without school buses, traffic in the vicinity of the school, which is situated in a residential area, would be severely disrupted and safety in the area would be compromised.

“Traffic was noticeable,” said Orest Holyk, the St. Sophia School Parent Council Chair and father of child in senior kindergarten at the school.  In addition, the increased volume of cars created a “stench” from exhaust fumes said Holyk.

Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion, Mississauga East MPP Peter Fonseca, Councillor Maja Prentice, Dufferin Peel District School Board Trustees, and members of the local school board were present as observers.

The cuts were first proposed by Education Ministry-appointed advisors in February 2006 as part of a deficit-management plan for Dufferin-Peel Catholic School Board, said Holyk. The advisors targeted St. Sofia, Holy Name of Mary Secondary School and a French immersion program for cuts and the provincial Education Minister Kathleen Wynne appointed a supervisor to oversee the plan's implementation.

According to Holyk, St. Sofia was targeted because the school is classified as a regional, rather than a mandated school, by the Dufferin Peel School Board and, therefore, spending by the Ministry of Education is discretionary.

One of the largest schools in Mississauga East, St. Sofia has over 640 students with two-thirds daily riding one of the 22 school buses that transport children from and to Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon. 

The parents fear that eliminating the buses could eventually lead to the closure of St. Sofia as many would not be able to drive their children to the school over a prolonged period and, and they would then be forced to enrol them in schools closer to their homes.  A drop in student enrolment would lead to “subsequent teacher/administrative/maintenance reductions and potentially the closure of the school,” said Holyk.  “Other Boards, realizing that they can probably save a few dollars on their bussing to Byzantine rite schools may start to remove bussing too,” he added.

The parents have plans in place to escalate their demonstrations if the matter is not resolved. “We are not asking for special treatment; we are asking for fair and equal treatment,” said Holyk.

Though the Byzantine rite schools all offer Ukrainian classes, Holyk stresses that “this is not necessarily a Ukrainian issue.” The schools’ uniqueness within the Catholic education system lies in the fact that they are Byzantine rite schools he says.

“Parents whose children attend these unique schools–St. Demetrius, St. Josaphat’s, Cardinal Josyf Slipyj and Holy Spirit–must get involved with the Parent Council. They need to volunteer to help the schools out,” says Holyk.  Some of these schools were initiated “20 or more years ago,” he says, “and if we are going to see them for the next 20 years, we need to get and stay involved.”