School Trustee Shelley Laskin (Ward 11) has confirmed a plan to make Maurice Cody Pubic School a junior school with classes topping out at Grade 5 as early as the 2017 academic year. The plan is devised because of a growing school population in Midtown Toronto. Cody children in Grades 6 to 8 will transfer to Hodgson Senior Public School. It is no secret that the South Bayview neighborhoods south of Eglinton Ave. are highly prized by young families Readers of the The South Bayview Bulldog, who sounded the alert on this story, say they purchased homes near Bayview Ave. because of Maurice Cody’s good reputation.
2020 CAPACITY ESTIMATE 750
At present, Cody has some 709 children enrolled but projections on the trustee’s website suggest that number would rise to 750 by 2020. Cody has an official capacity of less than 700. Hodgson has a present enrolment of about 350 but it would still require an addition in order to accommodate the children from Maurice Cody. Parents who are objecting to the change say the addition cannot be finished for 2017. They say the school board intends to build temporary buildings..
HODGSON NEEDS AN ADDITION
Ms. Laskin spoke to the Maurice Cody parent council yesterday and said these changes were being proposed by the school board’s Central Accommodation Team (CAT). Those writing to The Bulldog say they are greatly distressed by the plan. They claim there is no indication of when construction might begin on a finished addition to Hodgson School. The century-old school is said to be in need of repairs. It is recalled that in the 1970s and 80s when empty nesting was beginning to change Davisville Village, the school board tried to close Hodgson. Ms Laskin said that recommendations have not been finalized but did confirm the date of 2017 for Cody to change to Grades 1 to 5. She said the accommodation planning effects many schools including Eglinton, Oriole Park, Davisville and Forest Hill. Write to the South Bayview Bulldog
