Public school closures 'inevitable'

The Greater Essex County District School Board says school closures are "inevitable."

Superintendent Terry Lyons made the dire prediction Monday on CBC Windsor's Early Shift.

Lyons said the school board has 7,000 empty student spaces costing the board approximately $7 million a year. He wants to trim that cost by at least 50 per cent.

"Were trying to make efficient use of our financial resources to better serve our students," Lyons said.

Three high schools and the elementary feeder schools associated with them will be under review, said Lyons.

They include: Forster Secondary Schooland W.F. Herman Secondary School in Windsor, andKingsville District High SchoolinEssex County.

Old schools unsustainable

The board is one of the oldest in the province and as a result has some of the oldest schools in Ontario. Lyons said the board cannot sustain the buildings in the condition they are in.

'Were going to get a ton of input from the community in terms of people who have students in school.' Supt. Terry Lyons

In addition, he said the elementary schools feedingForsterHigh School areexperiencing some of the fastest declining enrolment.

It all means the board will have to make tough financial decisions.

Lyons said the board will create a review committee and he wants members of the public to bepart of it.

The board will host an information meeting at 6 p.m. on Monday at General Brock Public School to discuss the future of the Forster family of schools. Similar meetings about the other twogroups of schoolswill be held at a later date.

"Were going to get a ton of input from the community in terms of people who have students in school," Lyons said.

The superintendent said the review process will be "transparent."

"We have to continue to be proactive otherwise were going to have to be reactive," Lyons said.

The board has already decided toclose Oakwood Public School at the end of the 2011-2012 school year. Students will be transferred to Glenwood Public School. The board is also moving French immersion students atcole Bellewood Schoolto another building across town.

A facilitator from the Ministry of Educationreviewed that processto ensure proper procedures were followed but had no power to overturn the decisions even if they weren't.

A copy of the facilitator's review has not yet been made public.