Debate heats up over Niagara school for poor kids
Poor children in Niagara would be “stigmatized” if the school board sticks with a plan to start a special school for them in Welland next fall, says Ontario Education Minister Leona Dombrowsky.
“We are watching this very closely.”
She weighed in on the issue Wednesday after veteran New Democrat MPP Peter Kormos raised concerns that the idea is akin to “an educational apartheid” and must be stopped by the provincial government.
“This bizarre policy of segregation and isolation of kids from poor families...does nothing to address poverty and undermines public education,” said Kormos, who represents the riding of Welland.
“If students have special needs, academically or otherwise, they should be given those