Parents are fighting back over the planned closures of many schools, especially in Northern Ontario. A huge protest is taking place today at Queen’s Park with parents and groups opposed to the mergers or closures. The protest was organized by the newly formed group, Ontario Alliance Against School Closures. Felicia Fahey of Sudbury is one of the organizers. She says in the Rainbow board, some students are on a school bus for four hours a day because schools in their communities were shutdown. Fahey says these lengthy trips mean the students can never be part of extra-curricular activities. She says they board their bus at 6:40am and don’t get home until 6:00pm. Fahey says the funding model for rural schools needs to be changed to keep them open because the way it’s applied now is punitive.
