The Moratorium on School Closures in Inverness County

Despite this resolve, in September, 1995, the IDSB again identified the Margaree Forks School for permanent closure. A Study Committee was formed to comply with Department of Education guidelines for school closures, and at the same time, the Margaree Education Coalition, newly formed from the S.O.S. Committee and the other education-oriented organizations in the Margarees, began an intensive challenge to the wisdom and legality of the board's decision. The Coalition's campaign included a petition calling for a one-year moratorium on school closures, signed by 1200 citizens of Margaree; a meeting with the Minister of Education; radio and newspaper articles; and several public meetings. The Study Committee, after holding several meetings of its own and producing three Newsletters, concluded that it was unable to anticipate the impact of up-coming school board amalgamation; and on 12 December, 1995 the student representative on the Study Committee recommended that the IDSB declare a 1-year moratorium on school closures for the District.⁸ The Board agreed unanimously.

The "Kitchen Forum"

The one-year moratorium gave the Margaree Education Coalition and the community time to launch a rigorous bottom-up strategic planning process. The Coalition wished the process to be as inclusive as possible, giving everyone the opportunity to participate. Drawing from the successes of Rev. Drs. Moses Coady and Jimmy Tompkins, the Coalition organized 17 neighbourhood meetings, called "The Kitchen Forum." The goal of these meetings was to gain an understanding of the needs and wishes of the people of Margaree regarding P-12 education. Minutes of the discussions were kept and a report was produced and circulated to every household in Margaree. The "Kitchen Forum" reaffirmed the commitment of Margaree citizens to maintain and improve P-12 education in the community. Two models for the governance of the community school were proposed (options 1 & 2 described below), and it was evident that a second round of meetings was needed to give a clearer direction to the strategic plan.⁹

"Forum II," held in April and May, 1996, consisted of 21 neighbourhood planning meetings that were more structured than the first round. Guided by facilitation teams, participants discussed the "Forum Report" and evaluated the two options for governance described in the report. Each Forum II meeting elected a delegate who would represent the opinions of the neighbourhood at a planning workshop. In preparation for the workshop, the notes and charts from Forum II were reviewed and organized and the Coalition obtained the services of a professional facilitator. ¹⁰

The Kitchen Forum will be explained in greater detail in the section on building community.