Board officials recommend closing Harrow, Western high schools

Officials with the Greater Essex County District School Board are recommending that Harrow District High School and Western Secondary School be declared surplus and closed after this school year.

An accommodation review involving five area schoolswas initiatedto address capacity issues.

Statistics from last year showed that Harrow had a student population in October 2014 that was just 52.5 per cent of its capacity, while Western had more empty spaces than students enrolled.

• Western high school's potential closure debated

The recommendations of the board's director of education, involving the Harrow and Western high schools, were released Friday.

School trustees will formally receive these recommendations at a meeting on Tuesday.

However, trustees will not make any decision on any potential closings until a special board meeting next month.

The trustees are not obligated to follow the recommendations of the board's director. They could act upon them, amend them or disregard them.