Jay Aspin, the chair of the Near North District School Board, says trustees did not want to cancel the International Baccalaureate (IB) program at Chippewa Secondary School, but in the end, the decision came down to what taxpayers are getting for their money.
“The IB program is a credit to Chippewa Secondary School,” Aspin said.
“But the problem is with declining enrolment, we’re getting less and less government funding and we have to re-evaluate our spending and spend where we get the most value for our money. When we looked at the results compared to what we were spending, it was decided there were better places to put our money.”
The results Aspin is referring to is a program that has cost the board $900,000 since its inception five years ago.
Aspin says six students graduated from the program this year.
In addition, there were 28 certificates issued which means students took at least one IB course.
Aspin says the IB program is an elite set of courses that costs considerably more than other high school programs.
But it’s being offered in a climate of declining enrolment where the board has lost $11-million in government funding over the past five years.
He acknowledges that parents contributed financially to the program, but that contribution is very small.
Aspin says parents with children in the program are understandably not happy it’s being cancelled.
However, he notes that students currently enrolled in IB classes will be allowed to continue in them and graduate over the next few years.
The students who will likely be denied admission to the program is the new crop of Grade 9 students entering high school.
Aspin says staff are currently tracking down this group over the summer since other arrangements have to be made for them before the start of the next school year.
Despite the cancellation, Aspin doesn’t say the program was a failure.
“Whether the program didn’t fit this area, it wasn’t promoted adequately, I don’t know,” he said.
“We have to put our money where we get the best results and we’re not getting the best results for this program.”
Aspin supports the idea of students being offered advanced and challenging courses.
However, the concept may have to take a different approach to what the IB program offered because it’s been too expensive.
Aspin says teachers who provided input via email advocated for its continuation.
“And rightly so,” he said.
“They’re involved in it, they enjoy it but they don’t have the responsibility we have.”
