Trustees with the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) voted Tuesday evening against renaming Sir John A. Macdonald Public School for the time being.
The vote came based on a report from staff that said polled parents had voted in favour of the K-8 school being renamed Carling Heights Public School.
Trustees voted 4-5 against the renaming, with two abstaining. There was little debate concerning the issue, with only one trustee, vice-chair Beth Mai, speaking ahead of the vote.
Mai said while she values receiving the community’s input, she raised concern over parents not having access to information at the time of voting.
“My primary concern is that we do not find ourselves, a few years down the road, looking at renaming a school once again,” said Mai.
Ahead of the vote, Mai had asked if two paragraphs explaining the name choice of Carling Heights included in the report were made available to parents at the time of voting. Staff informed trustees the paragraphs were not available.
The two paragraphs outline that the name suggestion came from the community where the school sits in the north end of London. The neighbourhood itself was named after Thomas Carling, best known for the brewery he founded in the mid-1800s in London.
Beyond the possibility of renaming the school again, Mai did not elaborate on why the information added to the report caused hesitation in voting for the name change.
None of the other trustees who voted against or abstained offered explanations for voting no or abstaining.
Trustees passed a motion in November 2022 to rename two schools, Sir John A. Macdonald and F.D. Roosevelt Public School. Last month, trustees approved the renaming of Roosevelt P.S. to Forest City Public School, with the name change to take effect in September.
The renaming of the Landor Street school stems from the complicated history of Canada’s first prime minister. While regarded as a Father of Confederation who helped build Canada into the country it is now, Macdonald’s reputation has been marred by his connection to the Indian Act and the creation of residential schools.
In the renaming of Sir John A. Macdonald Public School, parents with students attending the school were asked to rank three possible new names derived from a selection committee.
The options were Carling Heights, Merwin Heights and Landor Street Public School. The results of each option’s first-place votes were:
- Carling Heights Public School – 41
- Merwin Heights Public School – 24
- Landor Street Public School – 13
Chair of the board of trustees, Lori-Ann Pizzolato, says while the initial timeline had the school being renamed in time for the start of the next school year, the vote Tuesday evening means it will be delayed.
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