Letting specialized schools languish, Ontario is 'creating a pathway for ODSP,' says parent

Parents and students who attend Ontario's only school for the blind say the Ministry of Education is letting its specialized schools languish, hurting students with disabilities.

W. Ross Macdonald School for the Blind, in Brantford, Ont., is one of seven schools that fall under the Ministry of Education's Provincial and Demonstration Schools Branch. The school has been in operation since 1872 and is in need of repairs, said Stephanie Antone, chair of the school's parent council.  

"At Macdonald, we've had a rink that's been out of service for, I want to say, more than four years, but only now there's a plan to fix the rink. We've had a heating problem at the school this last year, but that's not a new problem to the school. The boilers have been failing for years," said Antone.

"So why hasn't the Ministry of Education ... fixed it? Why? Why has it gotten to the point that it is? Some of these problems that exist  — not just at W. Ross Macdonald, but at the schools for the deaf — have have been present prior to COVID," said Antone.

Fix the schools

The Ontario government has the money to fix the schools, said David Sykes, the district officer for district 30 of the OSSTF, but it's not being spent.

A Freedom of Information request, filed by the union and viewed by CBC News, show budgets for the blind and deaf schools (four of the seven schools under the Provincial and Demonstration Schools Branch) increased as follows:

• Robarts School for the Deaf in London, Ont., went from $2,624,000 in 2020-2021 to $2,810,000 in 2021-2022.
• Sir James Whitney School for the Deaf in Belleville, Ont., went from $5,570,000 in 2020-2021 to $5,948,000 in 2021-2022.
• E. C Drury School for the Deaf in Milton, Ont., went from $11,085,000 in 2020-2021 to $11,616,000 in 2021-2022.
• W.Ross Macdonald School for the Blind in Brantford, Ont., went from $16,654,900 in 2020-2021 to $17,400,900 in 2021-2022.

The document breaks down how the money will be spent in broad categories like school program admin, and resource services internal. Sykes has questions about if the money is being spent at all — pointing to infrastructure, like pools.

"We know that money has not been doled out because our pool has not been working at three sites for several years," said Sykes. "We believe that they are sitting on quite a lot of money." 

That includes the pool at W. Ross Macdonald, confirms Antone. And while school pools may seem like a luxury, it's where students learn essential skills they can't get anywhere else, said Sykes. 

"When you talk about a pool that's designated for deaf students to use, that's a place they can go and have an ASL-using lifeguard. You can't get that at a community pool," said Sykes. "It's really where deaf kids and blind and low-vision kids learn water safety. How important is that?"

Pathway to ODSP

W. Ross Macdonald provides programs for students from Kindergarten through to Grade 12 who are blind, low vision and deafblind. One of its famous graduates is the late Canadian musician Jeff Healey.

For Antone and her daughter, the Brantford school provides an inclusive education for people with disabilities. Antone feels the Ministry of Education needs to start investing in them again.

"There's no justification for why their schools are in the state they're in and that they are not taking the concerns of parents and staff seriously," said Antone. 

"You are creating a pathway for ODSP. How fair is it that a child with a disability is not given the same resources, and is not treated as important as a student without a disability?"

In a statement to CBC News, the Ministry of Education said it was "firmly committed to supporting and promoting provincial and demonstration schools in providing quality learning opportunities for these exceptional students."

It said as of 2020 it had increased yearly funding for the Provincial and Demonstration Schools Branch. 

"We will continue to support and operate these schools as we know how vital they are to the health and success of vulnerable students and their families."

Wednesday a rally will be held at W. Ross Macdonald. Earlier this month, similar rallies also took place at Ernest C. Drury in Milton, Robarts School for the Deaf in London, and Sir James Whitney School for the Deaf in Belleville. 

The three demonstration schools — Amethyst Demonstration School in London, Sagonaska Demonstration School in Belleville and Trillium Demonstration School in Milton — offer a one-year placement program for students diagnosed with a severe learning disability, according to the Ministry of Education website.