Ontario’s ban on closing low-enrollment schools should end, says public school association

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It’s time for the provincial government to end its six-year moratorium on primary and secondary school closures, says the association representing English-speaking public school boards in Ontario.

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In 2017, the province placed a moratorium on most student housing reviews by school boards to change schools and programming to accommodate changing demographics. That included closing or consolidating under-enrolled schools.

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At the time, there were public protests against the closure of schools in rural areas.

The Ontario Ministry of Education should drop the moratorium and issue new guidelines for school boards to resume accommodation reviews, said a statement released Wednesday by Cathy Abraham, president of the Ontario Public School Boards Association.

“We recognize that school closures can be difficult and emotional for students, families, and staff; however, it is often necessary to ensure the academic success of students and the long-term financial stability of the school district while responding to natural changes in demographics over time. time,” the statement said.

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Closing and consolidating schools is part of ensuring that students receive the best educational opportunities, Abraham said.

“During the moratorium, school boards have been delicately balancing maintaining aging infrastructure, changes in enrollment, and financial pressures while doing everything they can to deliver quality programming at their schools.

“The current situation has created unsustainable funding shortfalls as it costs the same to clean, heat, maintain and keep the lights on in a school whether it is half empty or full.”

Lifting the moratorium could hurt Ottawa’s largest school board, which now operates half-empty schools, but can do little to change the situation.

The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board was in the midst of a five-year series of citywide school reviews when the province declared the moratorium in June 2017.

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Trustees had voted in March 2017 to close seven schools after months of public debate and save our school campaigns by parents and students. Six were elementary schools in the west end of Ottawa, and the other was Rideau High School.

Since then, enrollment in some schools has continued to decline, while some suburban schools are packed with portables in backyards.

The most extreme example is Cambridge Street Public School in downtown Ottawa, with 57 students in a school built for 323, according to the most recent spring 2022 board enrollment statistics. Students at that school have been forced to to study in classrooms that contain three grades, and with so few students, it’s hard to offer clubs and sports teams.

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A total of 10 elementary schools and four high schools in the Ottawa-Carleton board have enrollments at 50 percent capacity or less, according to most March 2022 statistics.

“While the (Ottawa-Carleton District School Board) has no current plans for large-scale accommodation reviews, we support the (Association of Ontario Public School Boards) call for the Minister of Education to issue new guidelines and lift the moratorium, allowing districts and the communities they serve to determine their own needs,” a board statement said Wednesday.

“It is important to note that while a school may currently have low enrollment, that does not mean that this situation will necessarily continue as the population changes and grows. Student accommodation reviews provide an opportunity to look at a number of factors to better understand how we can best support student learning and well-being within our schools while remaining fiscally prudent with available resources. ”.

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The Ottawa Catholic School Board is not seeking to close any schools, spokeswoman Sharlene Hunter said.

That board only has one school with fewer than 150 students: St. Anthony Elementary on Booth Street, which has 111 students in a building that seats 346, he said.

However, the board would like to consolidate St. Rita and St. Augustine elementary schools into a new building, he said, adding that this would not be allowed until the moratorium on housing reviews is lifted.

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The association representing trustees of English Catholic schools has also called for new accommodation guidelines, Hunter said.

Abraham asked the education ministry to release new guidelines by the end of the current school year.

“We appreciate that this is a complex issue, but, after almost six years, our students and their families should no longer have to wait for their schools to be built, repaired and renovated.”

Potential improvements when the boards consolidate the schools include allowing for more program options, specialized support services and extracurricular activities, Abraham’s statement said.

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