Since public meetings Jan. 16 in the two West Prince schools recommended for closure, there have already been two planning meetings of the joint Home and Schools committee.
“Having this united council has been the best thing that’s happened in a while,” Bloomfield Home and School member Jaclyn Gallant commented on the support that is being shared.
Five Schools across P.E.I., including Bloomfield and St. Louis in West Prince, were recommended for closure in the School Change Category II Study Report which was released January 10 to the Board of Directors of the Public Schools Branch.
The report also has other recommendations, including boundary changes and changes within families of schools, but the recommendations for closure are what have struck a raw nerve in may Island communities.
“We’re all working together. We need to advocate for every other school around, too,” said Gallant in pointing out the committee has several concerns with the report.
“There are so many inequalities between rural and urban and we really need to advocate to get that back,” she said, adding that the report gives “no indication of what the future of our system in western P.E.I. will look like.”
Much of the initial work is in preparation for presentations to the Westisle Family of Schools public consultation meeting on Feb. 9 but Gallant says the work doesn’t stop there.
There is a rally being planned for Westisle on Feb.9 prior to the public consultation session and a rally at the Provincial Legislature is proposed. Representatives will be in attendance for a St. Jeans Elementary rally Wednesday in Charlottetown.
The committee has also prepared a series of “Did you know?” points that will be carried in Island media beginning this week.
“It’s just really educating the general public on what these proposed school closures mean for everyone; not just the schools recommended for closure,” Gallant said. “We’re focusing, primarily on the Westisle family, but this is relevant Island-wide.”
She said the objective is to keep the momentum going throughout the 60-day consultation period. Those 60 days commenced with the release of the recommendations.
Business Perspective
St. Louis businessman Larry Drouin fears for the future of his community if St. Louis Elementary School closes. Drouin organized a meeting of area business people on Monday to discuss the School Change Category II Study Report which recommends the closure of five P.E.I. schools, including St. Louis Elementary.
“If they close that school, who is going to want to settle in the area with a new family?” he asks. He notes there are many seniors in the community who, eventually, will want to sell their homes and move into an apartment or assisted living facility.
“There will be nobody around to buy them,” he said.
During Monday’s meeting Drouin said he gathered information that will be included in a presentation February 9 in response to the School Change recommendations.
“I did a little bit of research on (school closures). It showed quite a bit of, ‘when schools close, communities die,’” he said. “It just stands to reason.” Drouin said less traffic would also negatively impact on area businesses and cause harm to rural development.
