'We're going to be loud': P.E.I. school closure fight goes to cabinet

• No schools will close, says P.E.I. premier

Home and school associations on P.E.I. say the battle to keep schools open in the province will continue at the cabinet level.

On Monday night the board of directors of the Public Schools Branch recommended the closure of two schools: St. Jean Elementary in Charlottetown and Georgetown Elementary in Kings County.

• Close St. Jean, Georgetown but keep Bloomfield, St. Louis and Belfast says Public Schools Branch Board

Three other schools recommended for closure during the schools review process were spared.

Communities from saved schools ready to help

But representatives from Georgetown and St. Jean Elementary are not done yet. Final approval for the school closures must come from cabinet.

"We're going to rally. We're going to protest. We're going to petition. We're just going to be heard. We're going to be loud, " said Janna-Lynne Durant, president of the St. Jean Home and School Association.

"I've already had the other schools, who were basically saved tonight, contact me: whatever you need, you know we're willing to help."

Mallory Peters of Georgetown Elementary Home and School said her school is also ready to continue the fight.

The board rejected a number of recommendations for rezoning in the Georgetown area. Peters said if everyone zoned for Georgetown Elementary attended the school there wouldn't be an issue.

"Enforcing the zones needs to be done first," she said.

"If zones were enforced we wouldn't have half the problems that we have. Schools wouldn't be underutilized and we wouldn't be overcrowded."

• MORE P.E.I. NEWS |5 things to watch for during spring sitting of P.E.I. Legislature
• MORE P.E.I. NEWS |Before there was vinyl: Jukebox from 1800s entertains guests at P.E.I. inn