The following letter was sent to the members of the District School Board of Niagara. A copy was forwarded to The Lake Report for publication.

Dear members of the District School Board of Niagara,

Thank you for your recent communication outlining the process and rationale behind the boundary change affecting students at St. Davids and Crossroads public schools.

However, we must express our profound concern and disappointment with both the manner and the accelerated timeline in which this significant decision was made.

It is difficult to comprehend how a decision with such profound implications for the mental health and well-being of growing children could be executed in such a compressed time frame.

As documented in school communications, St. Davids Public School families were first informed on Oct. 7 that information regarding solutions to overcrowding would be made available on Oct. 20, via a report presented at the board’s program and planning committee meeting.

Critically, this meeting was not a public forum for input, and the boundary change was approved by the committee without any meaningful consultation with the community that would be most directly and significantly affected, namely, the families of Niagara on the Green.

Within a span of just two to three weeks, the lives and daily realities of many children and families were upended by a decision made without their voices being heard.

The abruptness of this process left families with no real opportunity to share their perspectives, raise concerns, or participate in shaping a solution that directly impacts their children’s educational experience and sense of belonging.

As a result, many feel that a major change has been imposed upon them, rather than developed with them. Further, the way this boundary change has been rolled out by the Board has left many Niagara on the Green students feeling as though they are being kicked out or excluded from St. Davids Public School.

This perception is deeply troubling and could have been avoided. If there had been an opportunity for genuine consultation and open discussion with the community from the outset, the messaging and transition could have been handled with much greater sensitivity and care, reducing anxiety and fostering a sense of inclusion rather than exclusion.

The board’s current approach appears to prioritize operational expediency over the holistic needs of students.

The practice of implementing boundary changes first and dealing with transition challenges only after the fact is, in our view, fundamentally unethical. It disregards the emotional, social, and academic impacts such abrupt transitions can have on children, and places undue stress on families who must scramble to adapt to new circumstances with little notice or support.

There is a critical need for a clear, robust policy, or an immediate update to existing policy, requiring that any boundary change proposal affecting large numbers of families, and especially young children, must be accompanied by a comprehensive transition plan.

This plan should be developed in collaboration with the affected community, incorporating their feedback and addressing their concerns before any final decision is made.

Only through such a process can the board fulfill its ethical and legal obligation to serve the best interests of its students.

We respectfully request that the board suspend or pause the implementation of this boundary change, engage in genuine consultation with the Niagara on the Green community, and then commit to developing a transition plan in partnership with those most affected before any such changes are approved and realized.

We urge the board to recognize that decisions of this magnitude must not be made in isolation or haste. The well-being of children, the stability of families and the integrity of the educational process all demand a more thoughtful, inclusive, and transparent approach.

Thank you for your attention to these urgent concerns.

Priya Litt (on behalf of the Niagara on the Green community)
Glendale