Undeterred by the cancellation of school buses due to dense fog, a spirited crowd of several hundred students, alongside supportive members of our community, gathered in front of Kingsville District High School on Main Street East today to march against perceived injustices stemming from Tuesday’s School Board meeting.
The meeting, meant to unveil the chosen name for Kingsville’s new K-12 school which is slated to open this fall, has become a focal point for community discontent.
The protest was sparked by claims of unfairness in the selection process, leaving a cloud of uncertainty hanging over the community. Allegations of biased decision-making and a lack of transparency fuelled the demonstrators’ resolve to make their voices heard today.
While the lack of political representation for the Town of Kingsville was noted, the mood of the crowd remained buoyant and positive, as participants chanted slogans and held up placards expressing frustration with their trustees. Passing cars honked their horns in support of the crowd.
As the community gathered on the school grounds, tensions rose slightly when the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) directed crowds to refrain from occupying the grass.
One citizen, claiming to be on the boulevard, asserted his right to public property and was threatened with arrest when he refused to comply.
Despite this hiccup, the protest was peaceful and still going strong two hours beyond its initial kick off. Kingsville’s community showed its resilience today and the citizens are now fuelled by a shared commitment to fairness and transparency.
The common thread running through many conversations in the crowd was the lack of community input in the school naming decision.
While a committee of volunteers was established and more than 600 submissions were received from the public, many protestors questioned why the school board decided to choose a name that no one had submitted.
The name, Erie Migration Academy, has not gone over well in Kingsville. Its acronym, EMA, has taken on a life of its own, making reference to a crass, slang term that would probably come as a disappointing surprise to the Board of Trustees.
After several days of harsh online criticism, petitions circulating to change the name, and media reports, School Board trustees have shown no appetite to negotiate and are digging their heels in.
But today’s demonstration has undeniably brought attention to the issue. The protest’s organizers have vowed to continue their advocacy until their concerns are addressed and a more transparent process is implemented.
As the community awaits a resolution, the fog of uncertainty surrounding the new school’s name lingers.
The passionate display of unity today, however, marks a turning point in Kingsville as citizens demand fairness and accountability in decisions that shape the future of their educational institution.
Top image: C. Breault
All other images: A.M. Lemire
I had to look up the slang acronym for EMA and it is very vulgar
I think the new school should be named after either Col James King or Lt Col Fredrick Jasperson. The founder of Kingsville or a man who served in Canadian Army and who was a POW. Both upstanding men. Thr school is on Jasperson Road.
I would like to share what a lot of people, including the current board that has voted on the decision, might not know about.
When the school board axed Maplewood Public School in Essex and changed the name to the rebuilt Essex Public School, what went along with it was all the history.
I found out after the fact that all the memorabilia did not transfer over to Essex Public School, so it became that Maplewood never existed- not the team pennants, plaques, photos, academic and sports awards and trophies, the name of the team-Tigers—teachers and student’s history GONE!
So many of Maplewood’s alumni were devastated, and history is vital.
The Board of Education, paid by the taxpayers, need to listen to what people are saying. I feel it is important to leave Kingsville in the name of the school, and also bring all the history to the newly built school. Create a bridge instead of a divide.
Students and teachers have to feel good about it, the community has to feel good about it, and I support a revisit and if that is not possible, than just leave the name as is.
After listening the latest two “thatkingsvillepodcast” episodes, the first featuring Julia Burgess and the latest three student reps that were on the naming committee its clear to me that Trustee Burgess (and to an extent the rest of the school board) had no , and never did, intention of listening to the Naming Committee and its recommendations. She showed utter contempt for the Committtee, the students, and the community. Now , with public discontent clearly obvious, she’s once again disregarded the shareholders feeling by doubling down and stating the Board is unlikely to revisit things. I call for her resignation, not only totally ignoring community input but also for personally hijacking the entire.process and giving the new school a name of HER choosing. Let this be a lesson in civics for future students of KDA.
Very sad choice of name.
Someone asked me if the Erie Migration Academy would be located in Point Pelee.