Proposal could save Walkerton schools
LINDSEY KUGLIN One man trying to solve Walkerton District Secondary School's enrolment woes doesn't understand the cold response he's getting from the Bluewater District School Board.

Jim Garrow, who is the director of the Bethune Institute based out of Guelph, proposed the idea to fill vancancies in schools with Chinese students to compensate for declining enrolment at the March 26 Accommodation Review Committee meeting. But Garrow said that even though he proposed the idea two years ago, the board claims that this is the first they've heard of it.

"They're back-peddling like nothing happened. These public-paid officials stand there and lie to the public. What the heck is going on here?" Garrow said in a telephone interview, April 22.

Garrow said he has saved email correspondence from board director Mary Anne Alton, dated from 2006, which stated that the trustees would like things to move forward with enroling Chinese students in Bluewater schools.

"But they said (at the meeting) they didn't know any of this. Who's lying?" Garrow said.

Chinese students are interested in obtaining Canadian diplomas as they are widely accepted in universities around the world, Garrow said.

The students would pay tuition and be billeted to local families while they complete their studies.

Garrow said he's spent nearly $16,000 of his own money after receiving approval from the board to move ahead with the foreign students. He said he'd lined up 450 Chinese students to attend schools in the Bluewater district, but was rebuffed by the board.

"We had a pretty open dialogue, until all of a sudden, nothing," he said.

Garrow said that the homestay program is a great benefit to any community. He said that had the 450 students come to Ontario, $15 million would have come into the economy, with tuition, homestay expenses, and additional spending.

Garrow said he was flooded with calls after his presentation to the March ARC meeting.

"The reaction in Walkerton has been very positive. I've had lots of people wanting to find out about homestay," he said.

Programs like this have saved schools facing declining enrolment in Vancouver, Toronto, St. John, New Brunswick, and Red Deer Alberta, according to Garrow.

"It's a reasonable proposal that's all upsides. What's the problem here?" he said, adding, "are we up against people who can't see the forest for the trees? Why am I sitting here shaking my head?"