Residents living in the Oakwood-Vaughan community want Vaughan Road Academy (VRA) to remain a public asset if the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) decides to close it at the end of this school year.

Ward 8 TDSB trustee Jennifer Arp said declining enrolment over the past 10 years is to blame for the proposed closure. The school is currently operating at about 19 per cent of its capacity.
According to Jason Kunin, a teacher at VRA, the school is unfairly portrayed as “sketchy” by the media and the public. 

“I have been here for 17 years, and this has never been the case,” said Kunin. “I would send my own kids to this school,” he said.

Kunin blames the board for what he has deemed to be a number of strategic decisions that deliberately shrunk the school’s enrolment. Forest Hill Collegiate Institute (FHCI), a high school near Eglinton and Bathurst, is currently operating at 118 per cent, and Kunin said VRA has lost many students in its catchment area to the school through optional attendance. FHCI, he said, has a better reputation due, in part, to its largely more affluent demographic. However he claims the reopening of John Polanyi Collegiate Institute also played a part. 

Although some residents are still striving to save the school, Kunin admitted VRA would be well-suited for a community centre: the building already has a pool, large gymnasium, industrial kitchen and theatre space.The school currently houses a child care program, and the city uses the site for drop-in recreation programs.

Local residents, community agencies and City of Toronto Parks, Forestry & Recreation were invited to share possible ideas for the site at a roundtable forum in the school’s gym on Nov. 8. The event was hosted by Oakwood-Vaughan Neigbourhood Action Partnership (OV NAP). 

Some residents expressed the fear the community could lose the building to development, and Bill Worrell, OV NAP volunteer, said residents are instead pushing for a community hub. He said they want more programs for seniors, youth, women’s services and health care.

During the forum, Arp said she supports the closure but will continue to advocate for the site to remain in the public trust.

Trish Lenz, OV NAP volunteer, said the first step is to bring the right people together to make their vision a reality. “The province has money for community hubs,” she added.

The TDSB will decide VRA’s fate Dec. 7.