OrilliaMatters welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected]. Please include your daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). The following letter is in response to an article about Orillia Central School, published Nov. 22.
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Five years ago I cried more than just a few tears as I helped the staff of the Orillia Central Preschool (OCP), then located where a vacant heritage building is now, move to their new location, next to Orchard Park Public School.
OCP is a non-profit, charitable corporation governed by a community board of directors. Right downtown, most families that had their children in this daycare would walk to drop off and pick up their kids, no matter the time of year. There’s a reason this was a “central” school.
OCP in its downtown location had one infant room, two toddler rooms, and two preschool rooms. No other OCP location (or other daycare in Orillia for that matter) had that much capacity. This also translated into children being tiered based on their age and skills much better than when there is only one room per level, which, of course, led to better tailoring of programming and better learning environments for all children.
OCP in their downtown location provided child-care services for over 80 families every day of the year. It employed over a dozen permanent staff. It was a hub of community. And, it paid rent to the City of Orillia for the space used.
And yet, the City of Orillia was incapable of realizing how amazing this daycare was. How central it was to the lives of so many. How it created a vibrant community by providing an essential service. How the rent OCP paid was guaranteed income for years to come.
Every time the lease expired, city council had to discuss and consider if this was really the best usage of the space. How ironic to question if a school is the best use for a heritage school building. And every time the lease was extended, it was for one, two or maybe three years. OCP’s request to city council was always a long-term lease: 10 years at least.
The building needed repairs (there’s no question of that) and OCP had the funds for them. Yet there was no commitment from the city that this would be the location of a preschool for many years to come. The last short-term lease extension OCP got was the straw that broke the camel’s back and the funds were then diverted to the construction of a new daycare attached to Orchard Park — a daycare that has only one infant room, one toddler room, one preschool room, and to which most parents drive to because of its location.
I had the immense pleasure of having the OCP staff help me raise my children. They were caring, and loving, and warm, and they believed in the community they had built with all their hearts. It pains me how shortsighted, removed, and (dare I say?) greedy our council was five years ago, and all the years before that.
Such a beautiful building. Such a strong community. City council really did pave paradise to put up a parking lot.
Thamara Laredo
Orillia
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