The very existence of our school is unjustly threaten- ed today. Religion, not geography, is the cause. Our school, being staffed with Catholic teachers, is reputed a denominational rather than a public school. This year, as formerly, thirty—three Protestants from districts outside Kinkora asked to be admitted, have enrolled and become with the others one group, With never at any time a cause for disagreement or religious con ten- tion of any kind. Not once has a complaint in this regard been made by children or parents.”

The letter went on to claim that Kinkora had a right to have a regional high school because of having had the first rural grade eleven in 1941, and the addition of grade twelve in 1955; and it went further to say that “only under duress and with great resentment will they [Catholics in Kinkora Area] be forced into any other unit3’34

In the end a compromise was reached satisfactory to all sides: each of the four communities in East Prince County would get a regional high school; and Kinkora would form one regional high school district with Miscouche and four— teen other, mostly Catholic, supporting districts. Table 11:4 identifies the sixteen districts in the unit.

Table 11:4, Kinkora-Miscouche Regional High School District35

Miscouche St. Nicholas Wellington Centre

Kinkora Emerald Maple Plains Middleton Newton

Bayside

Grand River-Richmond Shamrock

North Carleton

Brookvale

Maplewood

Green Road

Kelly’s Cross

119

Ralph McCarville, “Chairman of the struggle for the Kinkora Regional High School.”

(Courtesy of Eddie McCarvilIe)

Kinkora’s new nine-room regional high school was built in 1962, at a cost of $250,000 of government money 36and held its first graduation of 26 students in 1963. The first Prin- cipal of the Regional High School was Sister Carmel Mac— Donald, C.S.M. The first Trustees of the school were Ralph McCarville, Kinkora; Bert McCardle, Middleton; and St. Clair Croken, Emerald.

This controversy and its solution show how strongly rooted were community loyalties and religious values. While some Catholics and some Protestants were perfect- ly satisfied to send their children to schools where the ma— jority of the teachers were of the opposite faith, they were not willing to support a policy which would mean commit— ting their children and their taxes to such schools. Even con- solidation was not going to change that cultural difference. Nevertheless, consolidation did change these communities.